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Yahaba was fucking tired. Practice had been tough these past couple of days, especially since he had a bunch of new first years that needed to be trained. Being captain scared the shit out of Yahaba. Oikawa had left such a big impact on Seijoh, and Yahaba was afraid he wasn’t enough to fill his shoes. Watari and Kyoutani had been trying to help, but while Watari was good with the first years, he got distracted easily; Yahaba didn’t even want to start on how terrified the first years were of Kyoutani. Yahaba couldn’t blame them though, he was scared of Kyoutani once too. That was before he realized that their “Mad Dog” was just nervous around a lot of people.
Thankfully, practice was over and Yahaba sighed, feeling all the tension fall out of his shoulders. He had no idea how Oikawa handled all this pressure, it was exhausting. Walking out of campus, Yahaba let himself a moment to just breathe in the night air. It had been getting darker earlier, and Yahaba knew that this meant he was going to have to start bringing more layers if he wanted to be warm on his way home.
Yahaba was almost at the bus stop when he heard it; his soulmate was singing. Yahaba knew he was bisexual before high school, so it didn’t surprise him much when he heard his soulmate’s voice ringing through his head for the first time.
Yahaba sat down at the bus stop and leaned back, enjoying the voice of his soulmate. They had an amazing singing voice, much better than his own. Yahaba couldn’t sing very well, nothing compared to the raspy, yet smooth notes his soulmate was able to produce. His voice always made Yahaba feel calm, like someone had removed all of his worries with just a few simple words.
His soulmate kept singing, and that’s when Yahaba realized he didn’t recognize the song. He reached into his school bag to grab his phone, only to find that it wasn’t there. He must have left it in his locker in the club room. He groaned, but stood up. Yahaba needed his phone, especially since he had promised his younger brother that he could play games on it tonight.
Walking back to school, Yahaba’s soulmate kept singing.
“You're an asshole but I love you
And you make me so mad, I ask myself
Why I'm still here, or where could I go”
Yahaba laughed at the lyrics, thinking of how indecisive someone had to be about a person to write a song like this. It kind of reminded him of how the previous captain and ace had acted. They were always arguing, but Yahaba could see that behind all their banter, they really cared for each other. It was something Yahaba wished to have for himself one day.
Watari and Kyoutani had been in charge of cleaning up the gym tonight. The gym was locked, but it seemed like everything had been cleaned up and the lights outside were still on. They must have left not too long ago.
Maybe they’re in the club room . Yahaba thought as he backed away from the gym doors. He walked towards the club room as his soulmate got to a really good part of the song he was singing.
“Just once tried to wrap your little brain around my feelings
Just once please try no to be so mean
Repeat after me now R-O-M-A-N-C-E-E-E
Come on I'll say it slowly”
Yahaba was about to open the club room door when he heard a muffled voice coming from inside. Yahaba knew it was either Kyoutani or Watari, so he wasted no time swinging open the door.
“Hey, I forgot my-” Yahaba trailed off when he saw Kyoutani standing in the middle of the club room, shirtless. And singing. He had abruptly stopped at Yahaba’s appearance. Yahaba was about to make a snarky comment when he realized his soulmate’s voice had disappeared from his head as well.
They both stared at each other in silence that was steadily growing more awkward by the second. Yahaba was trying to find words to say, but it seemed like every single one got stuck in his throat. As he was hoping for some miracle to happen, Kyoutani opened his mouth.
“Um, you forgot something?” He asked, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. Yahaba was pretty sure the tips of his ears were pink. It was kinda cute.
Yahaba realized he was still staring and shook himself out of it. “Uh yeah. My phone.”
Kyoutani nodded and walked towards his locker and pulled out a shirt. Yahaba didn’t know how to feel when a wave of disappointment washed over him at the loss of shirtless Kyoutani, but that was a panic for a later time. Right now, Yahaba was more interested in trying to figure out what song his soulmate was singing, and if it had anything to do with the song Kyoutani had been singing.
He walked to his own locker and found his phone. He quickly pulled up google and searched one of the lyrics. True Love by P!nk popped up, and Yahaba took a moment to scroll through all the lyrics to see if he recognized any others. Once he confirmed that it was the song his soulmate was singing, he took a deep breath. Either his plan could end well, or very, very weird.
“Hey, uh, Kyoutani?” Yahaba started, waiting for Kyoutani to respond. He made a little grunt, and Yahaba knew that it was probably the best he was getting. “Were you singing True Love by P!nk before I walked in?”
Yahaba watched as Kyoutani visibly tensed. He turned around quickly, and Yahaba startled at how wide his eyes were. They didn’t hold any hostility in them, so Yahaba stood his ground.
“How… how do you know that?” He asked, and Yahaba could see a defense being built around him.
“That was the song my soulmate was singing.” Yahaba wasn’t sure if this answer would be enough, and he had been right. Kyoutani looked at him like he had just told him Iwaizumi had gotten held back a year or Kunimi was actually willing participating in practice.
They started at each other in silence again, this time it was a lot more uncomfortable. Yahaba shifted his feet and waited for Kyoutani’s response.
“Proof.”
“What?” Yahaba was confused. Kyoutani wanted proof?
“I need proof. I don’t believe it.” Kyoutani’s wide eyed stare narrowed into a more calculating glare.
Yahaba, slightly offended that Kyoutani didn’t believe him, hesitated. His voice is nothing compared to Kyoutani’s, and he’d rather not embarrass himself.
“I can’t sing,” Yahaba admitted. While it was true, he definitely didn’t want to sing in front of Kyoutani out of all people.
Kyoutani smirked at this. “Perfect. Then I’ll know if it's actually you.”
Yahaba scoffed and tilted his nose in the air, a habit he had picked up from Oikawa. Thinking about this logically, it wasn’t the only way he could prove that they were soulmates. Yahaba could stand outside while Kyoutani sang a song, and then Yahaba could tell him what it was. Or Kyoutani could just believe him. Either of those sounded better than Yahaba singing.
“I’m not waiting all day. My sister is expecting me home soon.” Yahaba knew Kyoutani was getting impatient, but he had to mentally prepare himself.
“Yeah, yeah. Shut up, asshole.” Yahaba shook his head and sighed. He was about to sing in front of Kyoutani and every part of his body was telling him to just say no and leave. He couldn’t do that, he had his pride on the line.
He took one more breath, a little shaky than the last. He was nervous, of course he was. Who wouldn’t be singing in front of their maybe soulmate and maybe long time crush since last year at the Spring High Preliminary when their voice was the equivalent to Hanamaki and Oikawa’s shrieks when a rat got into the gym.
Yahaba opened his mouth, and looked down at his shoes. He started singing the first song that came to mind.
“There once was a bittersweet man and they called him, "Lemon Boy"
He was growing in my garden and I pulled him out by his hair like a weed
And like weeds do he only came and grew back again
So, I figured this time I might as well let him be”
He was singing quietly, still not wanting Kyoutani to hear his voice. It was rough, not used to singing in front of others. He usually kept his singing voice for himself, and sometimes his brothers if they spied on him.
“Lemon Boy and me started to get along together
I helped him plant his seeds
And we'd mow the lawn in bad weather.”
He continued, growing a little louder as he continued. He took a quick breath and looked up from the ground. Kyoutani was frozen in front of him, eyes wide and a blush covering his face. Yahaba couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or not.
“It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him
So, I got myself a citrus friend.”
He finished, not wanting to sing anymore than necessary. Both of them didn’t move from their spot, just continued to stare at each other.
Kyoutani was the one to break the silence again this time. He smiled, softer than anything Yahaba had seen before.
“You really do suck at singing,” Kyoutani said warmly, and Yahaba was sure the room was getting hotter by the second.
Yahaba let out a soft laugh that was more a sigh of relief. “Shut up, asshole,” he said softly, fondness seeping into his words. Kyoutani’s smile grew wider at this, and Yahaba felt all the tension that had been building in his body release all at once.
He had found his soulmate.