Archive of Our Own

The first time you met Nishinoya Yuu, you were the refined and mature age of six, and sitting by a tree in the park. You were only about five feet away from your mother, who was gossipping about other people she knew with the other women at the park. This was a fairly normal circumstance, and you had gotten used to the monotony of sitting close by and waiting.

Of course, parks were usually for playing, but you didn’t know anyone and your mother had told you not to speak to strangers. Unaware that she meant adult strangers, you had rebuffed the advances of some of the other children simply by staring at them and not saying anything.

So there you were, six years old and bored out of your mind at the park. That was when Nishinoya came up to you, brandishing a stick and yelling. You blinked at him, and he grinned back. 

“ARR!” He said, waving his stick wildly, “I’M THE PIRATE CAPTAIN YUU, HERE TO TAKE ALL YER GOODS! HAND EM OVER, LANDLUBBER!”

“Mom says I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” you said very primly. Then you furrowed your brow. “Besides, the only goods I have are these leaves.” You pointed at two bedraggled leaves that sat to your left.

“Um,” he said and plopped down next to you to think. “That’s a problem ‘cause I want to play and everyone else says pirates are lame.”

“They’re not lame!”

“I know, right!” He threw up his hands, losing control of his stick for a second. It landed in your lap, and you looked at it for a second. He looked at it too, then flushed a little. “Sorry ‘bout that.” You shrugged and handed it over.

“Well, I want to play pirates but it’s the whole stranger problem,” you said. 

“Hmm… what if I introduce myself? Then I won’t be a stranger!” 

“That would probably work,” you said, brightening up. “I can introduce myself too, then you don’t have to worry about stranger danger either!”

“Smart!” He said, then extended a slightly muddy hand. “I’m Nishinoya Yuu. Nice to meet ya!”

“I’m (surname) (name). It’s good to meet you too!”

You shook hands, and then Nishinoya jumped up. He held his stick in a firm hand. “NOW! Hand over your goods!”

You laughed, and stood up, scooping up the leaves and clutching them to your chest. “No! Not my pearls!”

“ARR!” He yelled and began chasing you around, both of you laughing and screaming. 

At the end of the day, when your mother called you over, Nishinoya followed you. The two of you had been bickering about what was cooler, dinosaurs or dragons. You were pretty firmly in the corner of dragons, while Nishinoya was fighting for the dinosaurs.

“Oh, have you met a friend?” Your mother said with a smile and a raised brow. “Who might this be?”

“This is Yuu-chan! He’s my new friend!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Yuu-chan. I’m (name)’s mother. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Then he turned to you and gave you a grin. “Next time you come over, we should play in the stream, it’s really big and cold and there are some cool bugs.”

“Okay!” you said with a smile. “See ya later, Yuu-chan!”

“Bye, (name)-chan!” He waved you off, then ran away as you turned to chat with your mother about what had gone on with your new friend.

You visited your new friend at the park a few more times, each having a good time with him. You played dinosaurs when you brought your new dinosaur toys one time and in the end, you gave him the triceratops. 

“Be careful with this one,” you said gravely, “he’s my favorite.”

Nishinoya took it carefully and put it in his shirt pocket. “I promise I won’t drop him,” he said in a voice that was firm and told you he was serious. 

“Good,” you said, then you patted him on his spikey hair. “Now, come on! That big tree looks like it needs to be climbed.”

He shot up and then you two raced all the way to the tree, talking all the while.

It ended eventually, as all things must. You both exited grade school and were headed to middle school, which meant things like homework and clubs and afterschool activities that left little to no time for parks. 

The day before your first day at school, the two of you were at the park, on the swings. You’d finally become the top dogs at the park, able to claim the best places. 

“So…” you said, dragging your feet, “Chidoriyama Junior High, huh?”

“Yeah. And you’re headed to Yukigaoka, right?”

“Yep.” The two of you sat in silence for a second, swinging slowly. The yells and screams of children came by faintly. You finally looked up, your eyes locking onto his.

“Well, I’ll still see you. I’ll go to all of your games. You’re gonna be the best player ever, right?”

He smiled a little, grinning at you. “Yeah, that’s right! And then we’ll hang out there?”

“Yeah, definitely. It’s gonna be awesome.”

“Heck yeah,” he said, leaning his head back as the two of you swung slowly, just enjoying one another’s company.

Everything was crazy basically as soon as you entered junior high. You joined the photography club and practiced taking pictures of people and sunsets. It was fun for you to snap pictures of unsuspecting people and smile at the expressions they made. 

You also were in one of the highest classes, so you had a lot of homework. There wasn’t a lot of time for you to do things you wanted, but you always managed to make time to go to Noya’s games. 

He started as a left-wing spiker, but his receives were so good that the coach moved him to the libero position almost as soon as the first game was over. He excelled there, and as he walked you home from his games he would gush about how much fun he had being a libero.

“It’s just the perfect position for me, you know? It’s really fun to be able to be the last line of defense, one that anyone can depend on!”

“You’re crazy good at it,” you said with a wide smile. “You’re probably the best one out there.”

“Aw, thanks,” he said, laughing sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head. “And, hey, I really appreciate you coming to our games. It’s good to see you cheering for me.”

“Well, of course I’ll come,” you said with a smile. “I love to see you.”

“Yeah,” he said, smile small and almost secretive. “Same here.”

In year two of your junior high experience, there was a kid who joined the non-existent boys’ volleyball team. He was small but really energetic, and one of your favorite people to photograph. You were never quite sure of his name, and he didn’t seem very good at receiving, but his sheer enthusiasm made you believe that he could one day be something great. 

You told Noya about him one time, and he seemed intrigued. “I don’t really have a lot of energetic people on my team, but he sounds fun. It could be fun to play with someone crazy energetic!”

“Maybe you will, one day. That’d be crazy,” you said, kicking a rock along the sidewalk. “My best friend and my best photo subject, on the same team.”

“You sound like a stalker, (name)-chan.”

“You’re so goofy, Yuu-chan. You know I only stalk you.” You fluttered your eyelashes wildly and gave him a huge grin. 

He shoved you, and you shoved him back until the two of you were racing down the street, laughing like when you were younger.

On a day about six months away from the end of junior high, you and Noya got together to plan out where you were going to go to high school. The two of you decided to go together if you could because you’d both missed seeing each other every day.

Noya knocked on the door and you opened it, gesturing grandly to him before heading to your dining room table where a list of schools sat. The two of you had decided to choose schools together. 

“So,” you started off, “I really like the photography program at Date Tech, and they’ve got a pretty good volleyball team too…”

After thirty minutes and a serious discussion, you decided on Karasuno. The team had a good rep, according to Noya, and their photography classes were pretty impressive. 

“And,” Noya said with a small smirk, “The girls’ uniforms are really cute. Can’t go wrong there!”

“Oh my gosh, shut up you perv!” You whacked him with the pamphlets for both Shiritorizowa and Seijoh, which were probably the heftiest of them all. 

“Ow! Okay, okay I’m sorry! Don’t hit me!”

When you finally graduated junior high, you clutched your certificate proudly. You’d passed with honors, one of the highest-ranked in your class. You’d also gotten an award for your photography skills. 

When you got home, Noya was waiting for you excitedly. “(name)! Look! I got the best libero award!”

“Wow,” you said, eyes wide. “That’s amazing, Noya! You’re so cool!”

“Aw, thanks. But you got an award too, right?”

“Yeah,” you said, a smile growing across your face rapidly. “An award for being an outstanding photographer! I submitted this one picture I got during one of your games and they loved it!”

“Wow, that’s super cool!” He reached out to look at your award, and you handed it over to him. He handed over his as well, and you both scanned the other’s award.

Then both of you looked up at each other and grinned. “We finally did it, huh?”

“Yeah,” Noya said. “Now, high school, here we come!”

“I think you mean Karasuno, here we come.”

“Darn straight,” he said and held up his hand for a high five, which you enthusiastically responded to.

By the time that it was time for you two to go to high school (both of you made it into Karasuno, you fairly easily, and Noya with some help from you) you were a little nervous. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous what the heck Noya I’m freaking out oh my gosh-”

“Shh, calm down! It’s fine, (name), it’s fine! You’re gonna crush your first day, and so am I! We’re gonna have a great time, okay?” He patted your back consolingly as the two of you walked.

You took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly through your nose. “Okay. We got this.” You raised a slightly shaky fist for a fist bump.

He gave it back gently, making you smile. Then Noya grabbed your wrist and started sprinting you towards the school. “Now come on, (name)! We gotta go, come on come on!”

“Noya, slow down ! I’m not any good at running!”

Day one at Karasuno left you in a little bit of a blur. It was fast-paced with Noya around, even if you were in completely different classes. He ran you around the entire school in the morning, looking through the corridors to try and find both of your classrooms and then the gym, and then the photography room, and then your classes again because it was time for school to actually start.

Then at lunch, he came barging into your classroom, yelling your name. 

“(NAME)-CHAN! LET’S GO EAT LUNCH!”

The other people in your class looked up, seemingly stunned. You blushed and then stood up and headed towards your friend, bento in hand. Once you were out of the door, you poked him furiously in the side. “Yuu! What the heck, you’re so loud!”

“Like you’re any quieter! You’re just being all shy in front of the new kids, and honestly, that’s so lame. Come on, show ‘em the real you!”

“...maybe. Anyway, I know you. You’ve probably got a great place to eat lunch already, come on. Let’s go!”

You started pushing him in a random direction, him laughing his head off as he tried to protest. It didn’t work, as he was laughing. 

You got to the lunch spot, eventually. (Turns out you had been sending him the wrong way the entire time.)

Noya had forgotten to bring a lunch, so you shared your bento. He ate all of your katsu and left all of the vegetables for you, which made you punch him on the shoulder.

“Next time,” you said while looking down at your now rather sad lunch, “I’ll just make you your own bento. That way I can make you eat the vegetables.”

“Aww, how sweet, (name)-chan! Will you make it all cutesy for me, like admirers do?”

You hummed a little, considering it. “Sure, why not?”

Noya let out a choked noise and you turned to look at him, a little confused. Had he choked? He had shoved a lot of rice into his mouth all at the same time…

But no, his face was just really red despite the hand covering his face. You cocked your head in confusion before realizing why his face was so red.

I just said I’d be an admirer to him! Of course, it was a joke...But, for some reason… I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t?

Your own face turned red, and you looked away from him. The two of you sat together in silence on the roof until the bell rang. Once it did, the two of you looked at each other and let out awkward laughs. 

“Uh, see you after class?” You offered. Noya nodded, and you waved to him before dashing off to your classroom, the tips of your ears still a little pink.

After school, you walked Nishinoya to the gym where his first volleyball practice would be. The previous awkwardness from before seemed to have dissipated, and he was regaling you with a story about some guy in his class who had found one of his sister’s magazines in his binder. 

“And then he just- holds it up and out falls this giant picture of some boy band! He looked so embarrassed, but man was it hilarious!” 

You were snickering a little yourself, imagining this going on.

All of a sudden, the two of you were at the gym. Noya rocked forwards onto his toes, seemingly ready to rush in and make a splash. You just shook your head fondly and patted him on the back.

“Go get ‘em, Yuu-chan!”

“Thanks, (name)!” He looked like he was ready to race in, then paused. “Hey, you’ll make it home safe by yourself, right?”

“Yeah,” you said with a smile, “Don’t worry about me. Have fun, Noya!”

“Yes ma’am!” He said, then rocketed into the gym, throwing open the doors and making an entrance that fit him perfectly. 

The next day, Noya told you all about his escapades with his new team, and how even though he was a first-year, he was the new libero. He also told you that the magazine kid was on the team as well. 

“His name is Tanaka Ryunosuke, and he’s a wing spiker. He wants to be the ace someday and I think he can do it, but he has to beat the current ace, Asahi Azumane. Asahi is really cool, he’s super tall and he’s way good at hitting. He’s probably the best ace I’ve played with and it’s only been one practice!”

“Wow, that’s pretty neat. They all sound really cool, your team.” You swung your bento and the bento you’d brought for Noya as you walked.

“They are! I think you’d like them. Maybe one day you should stay after practice and I can introduce them all to you. Or maybe you could come to practice! You could take pictures and we can look really cool and ultra epic!”

“Hmm,” you said, “Maybe. It depends on if the club president is one that lets you take pictures wherever or is more strict. If I can, I’d have to check with the captain and also the coach. But it could be fun.”

“You should check,” Noya said, grabbing onto your shoulders and pushing you towards the photography club room. “Check right now and then later I can ask captain and then we can ask coach at practice and then you can meet everyone and-”

“Noya, the club room isn’t open! I can’t ask til later today!”

Noya paused in his pushing. “Oh, that’s right. Well, later today then.”

“Alright, alright. Now, let go of me! I’ve got to put my stuff away.”

For lunch, you handed Noya the bento you’d made. It had hot dogs cut into octopuses and onigiri shaped like tiny penguins. It also had a lot of vegetables, so that you could make good on your threat.

“Uh,” Noya said, his face very red, “Thanks, (name).”

“Y-yeah, no problem,” you said, your own face a little red as well.

After that, you didn’t address the food, too embarrassed.

The photography club was very kind. They all smiled and laughed easily, and there were a lot of impressive photos hung up on the walls. Your personal favorite was a group shot of some

random people. All of them were smiling and laughing, and the photographer had caught them just as they were walking under a street lamp. It gave the group of people a sort of ethereal glow.

“Do you like that one?” The club president said from behind you, making you jump a little. He seemed not to notice, and instead smiled at the picture. “That was taken by my senpai, two years ago. It’s a picture of his senpais, on their way to their last photography session of the year.”

“They all seem very carefree,” you said, looking at the picture again. “Like everything was going just right.”

“I always thought that too.”  The president smiled, then looked over to you. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself! I’m Saskuno Takumi, the president of the club. It’s great to meet you.”

“I’m (surname) (name). It’s a pleasure to meet you, Saskuno-senpai. Please take care of me!” You bowed to him.

“Of course,” he said with a bigger grin. “Now, come over here and show some of us your previous pictures. I heard you won an award last year?”

He ushered you over to a table where the other members sat, all of them smiling and gesturing you over. You cracked a grin, excited to be here with everyone.

“YUU-CHAN!” You yelled, sprinting to the volleyball gym as soon as your club was over. Noya paused in his walking, a tall boy with a shaved head standing next to him. “YUU-CHAN, WAIT FOR ME!”

“(name)?” He asked, obviously surprised. Usually, your club got out before his so this was new for him.

You skidded to a halt beside him, huffing a little. “Phew! Sorry, it’s just that I got some good news, and figured you’d want to hear it.”

Noya gave you an eager look, and you leaned forward with a grin.

“Starting tomorrow, I, (surname) (name), have the permission to visit any and all sport club activities to take pictures. And included in that would be-”

“THE BOY’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM!” Noya yelled, and you let out a laugh, excited to be able to share the news with your best friend.

“Oh man, I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone- WAIT!” He whirled around to where the taller boy was patiently waiting. “Tanaka! This is (surname), the friend I’ve been telling you about! (name), this is Tanaka Ryunosuke, one of my new friends!”

“Nice to meet you, Tanaka-san,” you said with a grin and reached out to shake his hand. “Yuu has told me a lot about you.”

“Oh,” he said, taking your hand. He seemed a little surprised and nervous. “All good things, I hope?”

“Nope,” Noya said, butting in. “I told her about the magazine.”

“Noya! You’re killing my rep with the girls already? I thought we were bros!”

“Sorry man, but (name) gets told everything. It’s like a rule now.”

The two began to bicker as you walked back to your houses, which made you smile. It felt right, to be here with your best friend and his new friend. Like everything was in order.

The next day, Tanaka sat with you two at lunch. He was energetic, and he spilled half his salad over you at one point, and then profusely apologized. You just laughed him off, wiping the lettuce and tomatoes onto a napkin and then into the trash. 

Tanaka also told you about Kiyoko, the manager of the team. Nishinoya told you a little bit about her, but Tanaka practically sang her praises.

“She’s gorgeous, and her eyes are incredible. She’s got the silkiest hair, and when she looks at me I just feel a thrill! Man, us guys on the team are blessed just by being in her presence!”

“Yeah,” Noya said, “She’s pretty cute! But (name)-chan, I think you’re pretty cute too.”

“Shut up, Yuu,” you said with a blush. You looked down at your bento, completely missing the look that Tanaka gave Noya.

“Anyway, so when is your guys’ first practice match again..?”

The two instantly began to speak over one another in their excitement, talking about how cool the match was going to be, and how they were going to destroy the other team. You enjoyed the energy that came with these two talking about the sport they both loved.

The day you stepped into the gym to take pictures for the first time, you were practically dive-bombed by Noya and Tanaka. 

“(NAME)-CHAN!” Noya yelled, giving you a huge hug, “YOU’RE FINALLY HERE!” He lifted you up, making you let out a little yelp. Once your feet were firmly on the ground, Tanaka ruffled your hair enthusiastically.

“Hey, you guys,” you said, trying to straighten up your hair a little. “Sorry it took so long, a lot of other sports had some pretty big events and- ew, Yuu, you got sweat all over me!”

“Sorry,” he said, not looking sorry at all. “Anyway, are you here to take a lotta good pictures of us? Are they going to be all over the school? Are you going to help us fundraise for nationals?!?”

Tanaka joined in the questioning as well. “Are you going to make a roster for us? Are we going to be on the news? Will these pictures get us super ultra famous??”

Both of their eyes were wide and you let out a little laugh while holding up your hands in an ‘I surrender’ gesture. “Maybe? First, I’ve got to speak to your coach and captain, then we can figure some stuff out.”

“Here,” Noya said, “Me and Tanaka can introduce you to everyone!” He grabbed your wrist and pulled you forward towards the group of players. 

“Here are our third-years! We have Captain Okada Rento, who’s a middle blocker. Our other middle blocker is also our senpai, and his name is Wada Aioto! 

“Then over here are our second-years. We have Sawamura Daichi, who is a wing spiker and defensive specialist, Sugawara Koshi who’s our setter, and Asahi Azumane who’s our ace! And then you can’t forget our beautiful manager Kiyoko Shimizu.

“And then there’s us, the first-years. There are me and Tanaka, but you already know us. Then there’s also Ennoshita Chikara who’s a wing hitter, Kinoshita Hisashi who is a pinch server, and Narita Kazuhito who’s a middle blocker! And that’s everyone!”

“Um, hello!” You said, head spinning with all of the names and positions that were crammed into your head. “I’m (surname) (name). I’ll be taking pictures for the photography club. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you!”

The captain, Okada, stepped forward with a smile. He was a tall, light-haired man with dark blue eyes and a friendly air. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, (surname)-san. Thank you for taking these pictures for us.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem at all,” you said a little shyly. “Um, are there any places that I shouldn’t go to take pictures?”

“Just stay off the court when we’re doing drills and things,” Wada said, butting into the conversation. He was taller than Okada, and his skin was dark. He seemed fairly serious, but in a way that was professional.

“Understood! Thank you for this opportunity, I greatly appreciate it.” You bowed to the group, then turned to Noya.

“Play hard for me today, okay? It’s been a while since I last saw you show off on the court.”

He instantly puffed out his chest. “Of course! I’ll be awesome, just you watch!”

You nodded and then headed off to the side to mess with your camera as the captain called the team to order. You saw a few people ruffle Nishinoya’s hair and elbow him teasingly, and he swatted them away. You shook your head, not quite understanding what it was with boys.

At the end of the practice, you had a lot of really incredible shots. Your favorite was the one that had caught Sugawara setting a ball directly to Asahi. They looked intimidating and powerful, something that you had been wanting to try and capture throughout the entire time you were taking pictures.

“Yuu!” You said with a grin, “Look at this!” Your cheeks were flushed with excitement and a little bit from the heat of the gym. Your hair was a little messy, but the way it fell around your shoulders suited you. And your eyes shone with excitement that spoke of your love for photography. 

All in all, it made Noya stumble a little as he trekked over to you. Not that you knew, of course.

“Look at how good these turned out!” You said happily. “The photography club is going to be excited!” You were showing Noya some of your favorites, and he seemed to like them all. Tanaka had really liked one you’d gotten of Kiyoko-san, and he said that he could die happy having seen it.

“These are all really awesome, (name)-chan,” Noya said. “I can tell you really put some effort into this!”

“Thanks, Yuu,” you said with a soft smile. The two of you stayed like that, staring into one another’s eyes for a while. Tanaka was the one to break the moment, begging you to give him a copy of the picture of Kiyoko.

(In the end, you did give him the picture, after making sure that Kiyoko would be okay with it.)

Time went on, and before you knew it, it was time for the volleyball inter-high tournament. Noya and Tanaka were practically bursting with excitement, both of them training harder than ever to be ready for it. 

“We’re going to go to nationals, I can feel it!” Tanaka said, pumping his fist determinedly.

“Heck yeah, we will! We’re going to crush everyone! We’ve got a great team!” Noya was bouncing around the sidewalk, trying to expel some of his leftover energy.

“Yeah! We’ve got a fantastically brilliant setter,”

“A smashing success of an ace who can break through any wall,”

“A defensive specialist that you can always trust to be there,”

“A pair of fearsome middle blockers that are always there to stop the ball,”

“A pinch server who always gets us out of a pinch,”

“Other players who are always ready to jump in and help at any time,”

“And best of all,” Tanaka started, and then Nishinoya joined him, “A BEAUTIFUL MANAGER WHO ALWAYS LIFTS OUR SPIRITS!”

The two of them high fived and started jumping around again.

“But wait,” you said, interrupting the duo’s celebration. “You guys are forgetting some people. I mean, you’ve also got a wing spiker with the determination to keep on going no matter what, who can always lift up another teammate and is a serious powerhouse. And you can’t possibly forget about the libero who’s defensive capabilities know no bounds, who never lets a ball hit the ground if he can help it!”

The two paused in their jumping and turned to face you. In a few seconds, you were the middle of a three-way group hug. 

“(name)-chan,” Tanaka said, voice wobbly. You just smiled as the hug got a little tighter.

“We got this,” Noya whispered, and you clung a little harder to both of them. 

“Yeah,” you said, burying your face into Noya’s chest, “You got this.”

The next day, you hugged Nishinoya Yuu as hard as you possibly could while he cried into your shoulder about how he wasn’t good enough to save the balls from hitting the floor after being spiked into Date Tech’s terrifying blocks.

“It’s okay,” you whispered into his hair, “You did just fine, Yuu. You were magnificent, no matter what.”

A week after the team’s loss to Date Tech and the subsequent tearful goodbye’s that went to their third-years, Noya was a little fidgety.

“Asahi hasn’t been to practice since the Date Tech match,” he said. “I’m worried he thinks it’s his fault. It’s not, but he tends to think that sort of thing-”

“I’m sure he’s fine, maybe just trying to clear his head,” you said in response, wiping off some rice that got stuck to your cheek. “He’ll be back soon, he loves volleyball! He wouldn’t quit.”

“Yeah,” Noya said as he looked towards where Tanaka stood, attempting to talk to Kiyoko-san. “You’re probably right.” But the upset expression didn’t leave his face.

“You’re not coming to school? Why not?” You hissed at Noya over the phone the next day as you walked to school alone. “What do you mean, you got suspended ?”

“It’s exactly that,” he said over the speaker. “And I’m banned from club activities for a month. Which kind of sucks, but it’s alright.”

“Nishinoya, what the actual living heck? Why were you so stupid? You love volleyball, and now you can’t play? What were you thinking?”

“I can still play,” he said, and you could practically see him rolling his eyes. “Just not with the team. And besides.” His voice got steely cold here, and you could feel how serious he was. “I did it because it was important. Hopefully it knocked some sense into who it needed to.”

“I hope you’re right about it being important,” you sighed, “Because finals are coming up and you really can’t afford to fail those.”

“Pshh,” he said dismissively, “I won’t, don’t worry. I’ve got you to help me, after all!”

“You’re so lucky I love you,” you groaned. The line went silent on Noya’s side, and you paused. “Yuu? Are you still there?”

“Uh,” he said, and his voice was slightly higher-pitched, “Yeah, still here. Uh, I actually gotta go- call you at lunch! Bye!” Then he hung up on you.

“Okay…” you said, shaking your head. “What a goofball.”

“So you’re telling me that during your suspension, you decided to dye your hair like some delinquent? Yuu! I can’t leave you alone for ten seconds, I swear!”

“Sorry, (name)-chan… but it looks wicked awesome, right?”

“... Yeah. I guess it does, you numbskull.”

Once Noya’s month suspension was done, he barrelled into the gym much in the same fashion that he’d barrelled into it the first time he’d ever entered. This time, since the club was seemingly close to being done for the night, you followed him.

Inside, there were four newbies. Two were incredibly tall, and you felt like a shrimp already- and you weren’t even next to them! The other two were shorter- one a lot so. His orange hair seemed familiar, and you squinted at him as he rushed Noya to talk about how he had just received one of the tall ones (Kageyama, maybe? That’s what it sounded like he said, at least...) serves.

All of a sudden, it hit you. 

“Hinata Shouyou!” You said triumphantly. “I remember you!”

A loud chorus of “huh?” came from where most of the team was gathered. A particularly loud one seemed to come from Noya and the person in question.

“Oh, sorry,” you said. “It’s just that I went to the same school as Hinata. He was a year younger, but I remember that he was trying to build up our volleyball team…”

You felt a little shy after your outburst, but Hinata lit up as he saw your face. “I remember you too! You’re (surname)-senpai, the one who took the really good photos! You got some really awesome ones of the volleyball ladies. They were like ‘Whoosh! Bam!’ and you were like ‘Kapow! Ka-ching!’ It was cool!”

“Oh,” you said, blushing a little, “Thanks.”

“Wait wait wait,” Nishinoya said, eyes widening. “This is the guy you told me about way back then? The energetic one?”

You nodded.

“How fate works in mysterious ways,” he said dramatically, and you laughed a little.

The team then had a meeting of some sort, and you stood off to the side, messing with your camera. You were thinking about maybe grabbing a shot of the team sitting together when you heard Noya ask a question.

“Hey, is Asahi back yet?” That got you interested, and you scanned the room for the familiar shape of the ace.

The third-years looked at each other before Sugawara stepped forward.

“No, Nishinoya. Asahi hasn’t been here since before your suspension. He told us he was quitting the team.”

“What?” Noya said, voice suddenly angry. You bit your lip then headed over to him, grabbing his arm lightly. He didn’t shake you off, but he didn’t respond, either. All he did was look down at you, and you could see the turmoil in his eyes. 

Finally, he let out a shaky breath. “If Asahi isn’t playing, neither am I.”

And with that, Noya grabbed your arm in return and pulled you out of the gym.

“Why is it so important that both you and Asahi play?” You said as the two of you laid underneath the stars in your childhood park.

“He’s blaming himself for what happened against Date Tech. He thinks it’s his fault, but it wasn’t. It was as much my fault as it was his, and so if he’s not worthy of playing, then neither am I.”

There was a moment of silence where you could see his shoulders shake slightly in the dim light of the park. Then you spoke.

“I don’t quite understand it, myself. I think you’re both great players, and it wasn’t either of your faults. It was a combined effort of everyone, and I bet you anything that if you asked any of the others, they’d feel the same way as you.” You took in a breath, slowly. Let it out, slowly as well. “But I get that this is something really important to you. So if you want to wait until Asahi does, then it’s fine. But don’t give up on the sport completely. Go practice with your team, and eventually, he’ll come back. Volleyball’s in his blood as much as it is in yours, after all.”

Noya didn’t say anything for a long time. Both of you just sat there. Finally, he let out a shaky laugh.

“You’re right. Thanks, (name). I… I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime, Yuu-chan.” you said with a smile. Then you stood up and brushed yourself off before extending a hand to Noya. “Now come on. Let’s get some Gari-Gari Kun before the shop closes and we come home late enough that my mother yells at both of us.”

“Yeah,” he said, and his smile makes you feel kind of like you’re floating.

Later that night, in your bed, you thought about your best friend. It’s become pretty obvious to you that he’s more than just a friend to you. The way your stomach swoops when he compliments your or your pictures, the way his laugh makes you laugh and smile in return.

And you also thought he looks adorable when he blushes. That’s definitely a clue as to how you feel.

“Aw frick,” you whispered under your breath, “I’m in love with Nishinoya Yuu.”

Asahi comes back to practice, eventually. Noya let you know about it through a conversation that made him grin ear to ear. 

“The team is really good this year, too,” he said, and you give him a grin.

“You said that last year.”

“I’ll say it every year! Because! We! Always! Have! A! Good! Team!” He knocked into you with every new word, and you went stumbling across the street while he laughed.

“Anyway,” he started, and he seemed to sober up a little bit. “I came here to tell you about our plans for the weekend.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You mean the plans to go to the arcade and hang out with Tanaka?”

“Yeah… well, it turns out that we got invited to play against Nekoma in a practice match? So neither me or Ryuu will be here.”

You frowned a little bit. You’d been looking forward to hanging out with your friends, but you know how important volleyball is to them. 

“It’s okay,” you said. “Just means you’re the one who’s paying next time.”

“No fair!” he cried out, and you laugh, dropping the subject as you continue on your trek to school. 

The year goes on, and once again rolls around the inter-high tournament. Both Noya and Tanaka are pumped, but now you’ve added another lively volleyball player to your little pre-game group.

Hinata is as enthusiastic as ever, and him plus Noya plus Tanaka leads to some serious mischief. You try your best to temper the two crazies, but it seems almost impossible some days. Like today.

“WE’RE GOING TO WIN THE INTER-HIGH AND GO TO NATIONALS!” Is their excited cry. You’ve had to apologize to two different neighbors and three random passers-by already. It’s too early for their excitement, but you can’t bring yourself to stop them. 

“Yeah, you guys are going to crush it,” you say with a laugh. “But can you keep it down? It’s time for most sane people to be sleeping.”

“Are you implying that I’m not sane?” Noya says, sliding his arm around your shoulders. You welcome it, not only because it’s freezing outside, but also because it feels right. 

“Oh, definitely. I thought I told you that a long time ago.” You nudge him and he smiles. You walk the rest of the way to school like that, trying to keep your friends quiet and get them to the bus on time.

You cheer for Noya as loud as you possibly can during the games. You managed to get excused from school on the grounds that you were taking pictures. Which you were, but mostly you just wanted to see your friends dominate.

Kageyama and Hinata’s freak quick was incredibly impressive, and Asahi’s sheer determination when going up against Date Tech made you happy. Seeing Noya save so many balls brought a different sort of pride to your chest, one that came from knowing how hard he’d worked to be able to save them off of blocks. 

When they won, you screamed along with them, and also snapped a picture of their happy, ecstatic faces. Everything felt perfect. They were on top of the world, those boys- the ones that you hadn’t realized you’d claimed as yours until right now.

You rushed down the stairs, camera clattering on your chest as you sprinted to Noya. He grabbed you and wrapped you up in a hug. After a few seconds, Tanaka and Hinata joined, and then Asahi. From then on the other members piled onto your huge group hug, making you laugh from between Noya’s arms.

And then, Seijoh won. 

“I tried so hard,” Noya said, voice cracking as you hugged him tight. “I really thought we had it. I wanted to win, for Asahi and Suga and Daichi. It’s their last game- their last chance. They worked so hard !”

“I know,” you said into his hair, where it laid flat on his head, slightly damp from his shower. “You all worked so hard, you did so well, Yuu-”

“I didn’t do good enough,” he sobbed, “I wasn’t enough , okay?”

“Volleyball isn’t a one-person sport, Yuu,” you whispered, “You did amazingly. You are enough. And,” You looked him in the eyes, making sure he knew how serious you were, “You still have time to win for them. You’ve got this, Yuu.”

He blinked once or twice, eyes watery. Then he snuggled closer to you and let out a laugh. “You always know what’s exactly right to say, (name).”

“‘Course I do. It’s part of the job of being your friend.” You run your hand through his hair and he lets out a little sigh. “Now, do you want to see this really cool picture of you? It was during that one receive, the one you used your foot for…”

(When Yuu fell asleep, you kissed his forehead softly and pulled a blanket over the top of him. Then you left his house and headed to yours, unaware of the blush that crossed your half-asleep friend’s face.)

Hinata and Tanaka were not the people that you would assume would corner you during lunch while Noya was talking to Asahi, but here you were.

“(name),” Tanaka said gravely, “It has come to our attention that you have a major problem.”

“Yeah!” Hinata said, nodding furiously, “Major!”

“What is this major problem?” You asked good-naturedly, wondering what they were talking about.

“Your major crush on one Nishinoya Yuu, of course!” Tanaka said loudly, and your face flamed. 

“Oh my gosh shut up you guys,” you said, slapping a hand over both of their mouths before they could say anything else too loudly.

“I knew it!” Tanaka said, from behind your hand. It came out distorted however, because of the hand. Hinata simply nodded, eyes wide. You could feel his grin under your hand.

“You can’t tell anyone,” you hissed. “Okay?”

Both of them looked at each other guiltily, and you sighed before dropping your hands. “Okay, who else knows?”

The entire rest of the Karasuno volleyball team was the correct answer. And every single one of them (except Tsukkishima, but that was a given) wanted you to confess to him straight away.

“Give him a bento!” 

“Give him an entire package of Gari-Gari Kun!”

“Write an elaborate love note!”

“Tell him normally and get this over with.”

“Give him a collage of his best photos and then confess!”

“Guys,” you said, face bright red, “Look, I don’t want to screw anything up, so I’m just not gonna say anything!”

“Look, if you’re going to say some cliche line about you you’ll screw up your friendship, stop right now.” Sugawara said. “All of us know for a fact that he likes you too.”

“He’s not exactly subtle,” Asahi said sheepishly. 

“Really?” You asked, heart pounding. 

“Yeah,” Tanaka said, “Now it’s just up to you to let him know you feel the same way.”

You didn’t instantly confess, but you had an idea that left a lot of the team members groaning in disappointment. 

“That’ll take forever,” Hinata muttered. “And it’s up to us, too!”

“Think of it as motivation,” you said to the boy. 

He just groaned again instead.

There were a lot of training camps during the summer. You came along on one because the newspaper club needed pictures of it, but most of the time you stayed at home alone. Noya texted you a lot during it all, which made you smile.

But when the camps were over, it was time for the spring inter-high. And everyone was stressed and excited. Just like all of your other inter-high experiences, you walked with your friends to drop them off. They were as hyper as usual, Noya jumping around and Tanaka and Hinata starting a chant. Unlike last time, you just let them do their thing, apologizing to people as your friends disturbed the peace.

Once you got to the school, however, you paused Noya before he got on the bus. 

“Hey, Yuu?”

“Yeah, (name)-chan?” He seemed curious, so you sucked in a big breath to steel your nerves.

“Good luck at the tournament,” You said, and your hands were shaking. “I know you’ll be amazing.” Then, you leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning red and scrambling off.

Behind you, Noya seemed to erupt into red, and Tanaka had to catch him before he fainted. When he came to a few seconds later, there was determination in his eyes.

“Guys,” he said, firmly, “We gotta win.”

The entire team burst into laughter, and Noya got quite a few firm slaps on the back for that one. 

It was finally time for Karasuno’s rematch against Seijoh. You were on the edge of your seat the entire game, rooting for your team. So many crazy things happened and as the game dragged onto the third set and the teams were at deuce, you were jittery.

And so, when the final point was won by your team, you jumped up and you screamed.

“WAY TO GO, KARASUNO!” 

Your team looked up and waved at you. You were sure you looked crazy, half-hanging over the banister with your camera dangling from your neck. But Noya grinned up at you and you felt like your heart was going to burst right out of your chest. 

So when your team headed off the court, you sprinted to him and jumped. He caught you, and even though he was sweaty and gross and looked like he could nap for a day straight, you thought he had never looked more handsome.

“Yuu,” you said, and you were crying happy tears for your team, “You did it!”

“Yeah,” he said and bumped your forehead against his. “We did it!”

You weren’t quite sure what prompted you to do it, but you surged forward and planted a kiss directly on his lips.

He stiffened in shock, but then leaned in and kissed you in earnest. The two of you kept kissing until Tanaka wolf-whistled and made you embarrassed enough that you pulled away and buried your face in Yuu’s shoulder. 

“Finally,” someone said, and you let out a short and a little watery laugh.

“Yeah,” you whispered, looking at the guy you loved, “Finally.”

When you both got home that night, you stood in front of your door, holding hands. It was cold enough you could faintly see your breath. 

“Man,” Yuu said, a huge grin still on his face. “I can’t believe you like me back. I’m like, on top of the world!”

“Yeah,” you responded, grinning in turn, “Same here.”

“I just want to let you know,” Yuu said, dropping one of your hands to rub at the back of his neck, “That I really do care about you. I’ve cared about you for a long time, but I… never really got up the courage to tell you. I’m mostly just glad that now I get to be here with you, and that you like me back. I never really thought it would happen, if I’m being honest. But now that it has- I’m just, so happy!”

You gave him a soft smile, your face almost hurting from how much you’d been smiling today. He smiled down at you too, his eyes soft.

“Anyway,” he started again, “The point is that I really care about you too, okay, (name)? Like a lot. A lot a lot. And I’m super excited.”

“Yeah,” you said with a grin, “Me too.” Then you leaned in and gave your boyfriend a kiss. He kissed you back until you heard your mom yelling something from the inside of the house. That made you flush a little, but you separated from him slowly.

“Night, (name),” he whispered, softly.

“Night, Yuu.” You whispered as well, and then with one more chaste peck, you headed inside, where your mom proceeded to squeal about what had happened.

The next day, you walked to school with Yuu like always. You still had a bento for him, and you still goofed around like usual. The only thing that had really changed was that you two were holding hands. 

It was perfect, in your opinion.

“So,” Yuu said, “I was thinking… where should we go for our first date? I mean, there’s bowling and the arcade, and- oh, didn’t you say there was this one pastry shop you wanted to try? That could be fun, and then there’s always-”

He kept rambling on about ideas, and you simply smiled up at him.

Yeah, this was perfect.

“Hey, Yuu,?”

“Yeah, (name)?”

“I love you.”

“What!? You can’t just say things like that- why are you laughing at me? Come on!”

(He said it back as soon as the blush on his face died down.)