Chapter Text
[December 14th]
“What are you two doing?”
It’s nearly seven in the morning, and the knucklehead duo Nishinoya and Tanaka were already beginning their annual antics. The shorter of the two sits atop the other's shoulders, a thin branch of mistletoe pressed tightly between the wall and the libero’s hand. With a hammer in the other and nails dangling from his lips, he points towards Sugawara with a grunt.
“Hanging the misewtoe!” Noya says with excitement before taking a nail out of his mouth and positioning it against the top of the doorframe, hammer ready. “This year, we’re gonna get a kiss from our goddess underneath it, and you’re gonna stay far away from her, yeah!”
Suga snickers at the accusing tone, pride welling in his chest at last year’s achievement. He had been lucky enough to catch Kiyoko under the mistletoe (completely accidental, of course), and she offered to give him a kiss on the cheek as a per tradition. He nearly died inside at her touch, and ended up on Tanaka’s hit list for nearly half a year.
“Well, good luck with that, hmm?” He says idly, giving Tanaka an affectionate jab to the side as he brushes past them. The second year grunts, folding in on his stomach as he clutches Noya’s legs to keep him from tumbling six feet down.
“Hey, what the hell was that for!” He yells, and Noya accompanies him in shouting a few more unkindly phrases that fall deaf on the setter’s ears. As much as Suga would have liked to compete in their not-so-friendly mistletoe match for the pretty manager’s affection, he had someone else in mind that he’d rather get a kiss from.
Practice starts a few minutes later, the volleyball team swinging into action as they each take turns hitting serves and practicing new techniques for sets. Sugawara hangs off to the sidelines after a few reps, letting Kageyama take the lead in practicing with the rest of the team, and takes the opportunity to shoot you a quick text.
sg: hey, are you gonna be here for practice?
A second passes as he waits for your text, wondering where on earth you could’ve been. Kiyoko, unfortunately, couldn’t make it today due to a bad cold, something Daichi had told him and Asahi of the day before. And, like the kind hearted person you were, you volunteered to take her position as manager for a day to help ensure practice went by smoothly. Sure, it was a bit cruel to leave the other boys in the dark about their manager’s absence, seeing as how all their hard work would’ve gone to waste; but man would it be funny to see their disappointment at not being able to harass the poor girl for one practice session.
Besides, if he was lucky, their little shenanigans could pay off in a different way.
A few seconds later, his phone lights up with a text, and seeing your name accompanied by your cute contact photo ruffles the butterflies in his stomach.
yn: sorry!! I’m almost there, I promise <3 just gotta grab a few things first
He chuckles to himself. Late as always, he supposed; but that was one of the things he absolutely adored about you simply because that’s what made you, you. Plus, it felt nice being needed when you would always text and ask him to grab things you’ve forgotten, or to cover for you when you ran late to class. You never took advantage of his kindness either, always giving him a drink from the vending machine or a snack you made at home to thank him for his service. Your bright smile and heated cheeks as you handed him a wrapped bento box as an apology during your freshman year was what made him fall head over heels for you, after all.
Lost in thought, he misses the last ‘ding’ of his phone going off, and it's only a moment later when he hears the side door to the gym slide open that really knocks him out of his daydreams.
You lean up against the door, feebly attempting to balance three large boxes upon one another as you wobble inside. Suga instantly stands and rushes over to you, taking two cardboard boxes to help lighten your load with a grin.
“Ah, thanks Koushi,” you say, eyes squinting up at him with a sheepish smile. He desperately hides the tightening in his chest at hearing you call him by his first name. “Kiyoko wanted me to pick up the team’s new jerseys from inside the school first, but they ended up being heavier than expected.”
Suga clicks his tongue and shakes his head, a playful glint in his eyes as he chides you. “You should’ve called, I could’ve ran over to help you, y’know.”
He sets his own boxes against the wall before grabbing yours, his hands slightly brushing across your chilled fingers as he frees you of your burden. You were freezing, if the modest shivering of your legs and frigid touch were any indication, and he has half a mind to tear off his jacket to wrap around you.
“Hmm, I know, but I knew how much playing volleyball with the team means to you, so I thought it’d be better if I just handled it myself.” You crack your knuckles as you watch him set down the third box before coming to stand beside you.
Against his better judgement, he slides his volleyball jacket off and throws it over your shoulders, pulling it around your body and gripping it by the collar.
“Here, you’re shaking.”
“Oh!” You gasp, and he can’t miss the reddening of your cheeks as you fumble to grasp the article of clothing, instead settling on holding his wrists. Whether your state was from the frost outside or a result of the intimate contact, he couldn’t tell. “Y-You don’t have to do that! I’m fine now that I’m inside.”
Now it was his turn to blush, the dainty grip of your hands on his causing goosebumps to prickle across his pale, exposed skin. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t need it. Besides, you’ll catch a cold if you run around outside in just a t-shirt and shorts.”
You scoff up at him, blush fading now that the atmosphere has returned to your usual facetious bantering. “It’s not that cold outside, you know—” you stick a leg out and gesture to your bare legs warmed only by a pair of knee-high socks and shorts that are mostly covered by an oversized t-shirt and his larger black jacket, “—especially when I’m so warm blooded!”
He ruffles your hair with a laugh. “Be sure to tell me that next week when I’m hand-feeding your sorry ass chicken noodle soup and crackers.”
You mutter something defensive, a cute pout adorning your flushed face. Even after all these years, he could never get over the way you made him feel when he saw you smile and laugh. But, as your relationship blossomed into close friendship, he became more determined to keep the perfect balance you both teetered around in check.
“Woah, look!” Hinata shouts from across the court, pointing in your direction. “Sugawara-senpai’s under the mistletoe!”
Immediately, a volleyball decks the ginger straight in the chest, thanks to a well-aimed spike from Karasuno’s ace.
You and Suga both wince at the impact as Asahi rushes over to apologize to the first-year, dragging the sudden attention away just as fast as you both attracted it. Coach Ukai yells at the two to stop fooling around, but Hinata starts rambling to Asahi about his spiking power before they can resume the game.
“So, mistletoe, huh?” Suga says, pointing a finger at the top of the doorway with an impish smile. “By law that means I get a kiss from the pretty person underneath it, you know.”
You roll your eyes at the obvious joke, and he doesn’t honestly expect you to follow through with it if you were uncomfortable in the slightest, only giving a short laugh as he pulls back.
To his surprise, you grab the side of his neck in one hand and drag his head down to your level, pressing a chaste kiss against his chin. He blinks down at you as you release him with a shrug, and his skin tingles from the touch of your soft, chapped lips.
“It’s law, isn’t it?” You murmur, still close enough to where he can feel your breath caressing his cheeks. “Does that mean I also get a kiss from the pretty boy underneath the mistletoe?”
God, he’s so in love with. And as he grips his jacket collar to pull you up into a full kiss, he hopes his lips melding against yours can convey just how much he adores you. Your arms encircle his shoulders, leaning into the kiss with a dopey grin.
“I like you, Koushi,” you confess against his lips, eyes fluttering open as you hear him snort. He giggles as he presses a kiss to your forehead, then your nose, and lands on your lips.
“Wow, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear that from you.” Your eyes widen a hint at his subtle admission, and he wiggles his nose against yours, his soft hair tickling your forehead. “I really like you too, more than you know.”
Unfortunately, the two of you don’t have time to bask in the warmth of either’s declaration of love, as a wolf-whistle drags you both out of your lovey-dovey gaze.
“Woohoo, looks like my homeboy finally got the balls to confess, did he?” Tanaka yells, his loud voice no doubt attracting the eyes of everyone on the team. You titter at the twitch in Sugawara’s brow as the second-year starts to holler, joined by Nishinoya’s hooting and appreciative thumbs-up.
“Yeah, looks like you won’t be kissing Kiyoko this year!” He shouts, giving a small high five to the spiker as they celebrate their friend’s new relationship (and more importantly, the elimination of worthy competition). Suga rolls his eyes.
Ukai grumbles something to Takeda before shouting for Sugawara to get his ass back on the court. “You can canoodle in the corner later, we need to practice our secondary lineup!” The coach blows the whistle and the team falls into place on the court as they mumble amongst themselves.
Sugawara lingers behind, his pinkie finger hooked on yours and unwilling to let go. You give his hand a small squeeze, urging him to get back to his team. “We can continue this later, right?” You ask, still a little breathless and red from embarrassment.
He beams as he leans to press a warm kiss against your heated cheeks.
“Of course.”