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Asahi jogged off the court, wiping his forehead as he reached for a water bottle. Just before he could grab it, though, he froze, a soft, musical laugh snapping him out of his focus.
“That was great, Daichi,” a crooning female voice said. “That last hit? Amazing.”
Looking toward the source of the voice, Asahi saw two girls standing with Kiyoko—he recognized them both as third years, Kiyoko’s friends. The one who was flirting with Daichi, though, was not the one whose laugh had caught his attention.
You were standing a little behind Suki and Daichi, biting back a laugh as Kiyoko rolled her eyes. Suki was shameless in her crush on the volleyball captain, a crush that had gone unrequited for what felt like years now. Despite you and Kiyoko telling her a million times to play it cool, she was still giving it her all. Daichi didn’t seem to mind, or even notice, the extra attention, though, so you didn’t push it.
Anyway, you were more concerned with a burgeoning crush of your own. You did your best to keep your eyes focused on Kiyoko, who was talking to you about something that had happened in the first set, but it was hard not to look over her shoulder to where the team was taking their water break.
Asahi looked like he was half-listening to whatever Tanaka was saying, his head probably still in the game. It was insane how focused he got during matches, how intense he was. Considering how quiet and reserved he was in class, it always surprised you to see him turn into a powerful ace as soon as he set foot on the court.
You’d never admit it to Kiyoko and Suki, but staring at him was at least half the reason you agreed to come to matches.
Asahi snapped his head quickly to the side, praying that you hadn’t caught him staring. His cheeks flushed with an embarrassed heat as he tried to listen to Tanaka. Perhaps the only thing worse than you noticing him staring would be if Tanaka did—he would never let him live it down.
“Pay attention, Ace!” Tanaka teased, slapping him on the shoulder. “We need you to stay focused if we’re going to win this set and take the match.”
“Of course,” Asahi replied, trying to shake it off with a few stretches. He glanced over his shoulder, starting when he saw you looking back at him. This time, his face erupted in a full blush.
Tanka’s eyes widened as they darted between the two of you. “Asahi! Are you and—”
“Asahi’s got a crush!” Nishinoya shouted, leaping toward them from out of nowhere with a devilish grin. “I can’t believe it! Asahi’s got—”
Asahi slapped a hand over Nishinoya’s mouth, shoving him toward the court. His face was on fire now. He had been wrong before—Noya noticing him staring was absolutely worse than Tanaka.
“Shut your mouth!” Asahi whisper-shouted, yanking Noya away. “I do not have a crush.”
“Then what was that?” Noya looked up at his teammate with a dopey grin. “Because that was not just a friendly look. That was a look of someone who wants to get extra friendly with someone.”
Asahi groaned, rolling his eyes in a desperate attempt to look casual. “That was nothing—you’re imagining things.”
“I don’t think I am,” he argued, fighting his way out of Asahi’s grip. “I think you and—” He cut off as a whistle blew, signaling that it was time for the next set.
Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Asahi released Noya and took his position on the court. Making sure that no one was watching, he snuck a quick glance up at the stands, hoping to see you.
She’s in the front row, he thought, his eyes widening with surprise. And she’s looking right at me. Holy shit, she’s—
“Focus, Asahi!” Daichi shouted.
Shaking his head, Asahi turned his attention back to the game. Keep it together, Ace.
From your position in the front row, your view of Asahi was impeccable. God bless Suki and her unabashed desire to get as close to Daichi as humanly possible. When he rotated to your side of the court, especially, he was so close that you felt like you could reach out and touch him.
The set flew by quickly, Karasuno taking an early lead and holding it. It was almost such an easy set that you had a hard time focusing on the game. Instead, your mind drifted to the same place it always did—a certain long-haired wing spiker with the most gorgeous brown eyes you had ever seen and shoulders as wider than any high-schooler.
Your cheeks reddened at the thoughts that were racing around your head. Asahi’s arms wrapping around you, Asahi’s chest pressed into yours, Asahi whispering your name as he leaned in for a kiss. Before you could fall any deeper into your imagination, though, Suki’s voice snapped you out of it.
Suki leaped out of her seat with a squeal. “Nice receive, Daichi!”
You flew out of your seat with the rest of the crowd, watching the ball as it soared neatly out of Kageyama’s hands. Quickly, you glanced at the scoreboard—since when was it match point?
Looking back to the game, you watched as Asahi sprinted toward the net, lifting off the ground as he geared up for the spike.
“Go Asahi!” you shouted, shocking yourself as the words flew out of your mouth.
He nailed the hit, the ball slamming into their opponent’s court. Cheering, all his teammates flew toward him, celebrating the win. Your heart jerked to a stop when he looked up at you and smiled.
Laughing, Asahi pulled away from the crowd, taking his water bottle from Kiyoko with a quick thank you. He tossed a towel over his shoulder as he drank, using his other hand to push his sweaty hair off his forehead. His heart was still racing, exhilarated from making the match point, and maybe even more exhilarated that he had heard you cheering for him.
“So, are you going to ask her out now?” Noya asked, once again appearing out of nowhere.
Asahi started with surprise, squirting water down his chest as he jumped. “Noya, where the—"
“You’ve got to ask her out,” Tanka added, appearing next to Noya just as abruptly. “She’s beautiful, you know, and it’s got to be so nice to have a girl cheering you on…”
“Giving you a congratulations kiss…” Noya continued. “Maybe even a congratulations—”
“Excuse me?”
All three boy’s heads shot up, their eyes wide when they realized you had approached them. You bit back a small laugh, not wanting to let on that you had heard their teasing as you walked over.
“I—uh—” Asahi stuttered, his cheeks flushing pink. He slapped a hand to his chest, trying futilely to cover the wet spot from the water bottle. “You’re—"
Smiling, you reminded him of your name.
“Oh, I know,” he blurted, immediately slapping his hand over his mouth as his face flushed with a look of pure mortification—the poor guy looked like he was about to pass out.
Behind him, Tanka and Nishinoya were cracking up, barely holding each other upright as they were overcome with laughter. You watched with a laugh as Ennoshita dragged them off, clearly recognizing that Asahi didn’t need an audience for this conversation.
You smiled at Asahi, hoping that he couldn’t tell just how nervous you were. “I—um—just wanted to congratulate you on the win,” you said. “That last hit was amazing.”
He blushed a deeper shade of red, grabbing the back of his neck. “Thank you!” he said hurriedly. “It’s not just me, though, you know. The whole team is so good, and…” he trailed off, realizing he was about to ramble. “Thank you,” he said more softly, trying to catch his breath.
Your heart felt like it was about to beat right out of your chest—you had already made it farther than you ever dreamed you could just by talking to Asahi about something other than homework. You still had to take it one major step further, though. Taking a deep breath, you focused on his warm eyes and shy smile. “Asahi, I was wondering, well, I was hoping, would you maybe like to go out with me?”
His mouth fell open slightly, his brown eyes widening with amazement. “Like a date?”
Grinning, you nodded. “Yeah, if you want to, of course.”
“I want to!” he answered quickly, snapping his mouth shut with embarrassment before smiling softly. “I mean, of course, yes, I would like that.”
“Good.” Your stomach was fluttering, and it felt like you were floating right off the gym floor. “I know you have practice pretty much every day, so whenever you have time is fine.”
“How about tomorrow night?” he asked. “We can get dinner.”
“Tomorrow night?” You were amazed that he was as enthusiastic as you. “That sounds perfect.”
He nodded, his smile bright. “I’ll see you tomorrow after volleyball then.”
“I’ll see you then.” As you turned to walk away, Noya flew past you, shouting something indecipherable at Asahi.
“Asahi got a girlfriend!” he shouted, nearly knocking his friend off his feet. “You got a girlfriend!”
“Noya, stop!” he argued, holding the much-shorter boy at arm’s length. “You’re going to scare her away!”
Looking back at them, you smiled. It wouldn’t be nearly that easy to scare you away.