Work Text:
In two houses in two different parts of Japan, two boys closed their phones simultaneously, faces slightly red as they muttered into the darkness of their room:
"Shit."
**
It happened one Sunday afternoon. Nishinoya was paying a visit to the Tanaka residence, using the token excuse that they had to prepare for midterms. He was really there to play Mario Kart; plus, Tanaka'd said that Saeko was making burgers. The score of wins and losses was dead even when Saeko entered the kitchen. Watching the replay of their latest round, Tanaka tilted his head up from the sofa, contemplating the popcorn texture on their ceiling as Noya greeted his sister. Deciding it was now or never, he opened his mouth.
"Hey, Sis. How do you ask someone out?"
Saeko tossed a burger patty on the stove. Turning around, she pointed her spatula at him as she said, "What's this? Has my little brother finally found the courage to romance his crush? Did someone finally appreciate how awesome he is?! They’d better be ready for a good dose of Tanaka family Trial by Fire before they’re allowed to date you, Ryuu!"
Next to him, Noya's expression flashed briefly with shock before he said, "Ryuu!! Don't tell me you intend to break our pact and ask Kiyoko-san out?!?!?"
"It's not like that!" replied Tanaka. "I'm just asking...for a friend."
"A friend," echoed the other two in the room, clearly unconvinced.
"They've been buddies with this person who lives far away and keep contact via text, y'see? And somehow they ended up really, really liking this person and I want to give them advice for how they can ask the guy--I mean, girl--out! Because that's what friends are for!"
Tanaka bit his lip and pointedly ignored the intense scrutiny given by his sister and best bro. He knew they could probably see through his lie, but the important thing was that they probably wouldn't push to find out something he seemed to be omitting on purpose. Saeko hummed thoughtfully and leaned over the kitchen counter, tapping her finger to her chin in contemplation. It was then that Akiteru walked into the kitchen, whistling as he grabbed a mug (he visited so often that they'd gone out to the 100 yen store and bought him his own) and started preparing tea. Absorbed in the rhythm of his task, he was caught off guard when he was tugged back by the collar of his polo. "Saeko-san, wha--?"
"Alright, Ryuu. Listen up. You too, Yuu-kun, maybe you'll learn a few things." Saeko linked her arms around Akiteru's neck as she spoke, bringing the tall man's face down to hers. "The main strategy for anything like this is initiative. Take the first step! Don't wait for the perfect moment 'cause it won't happen until you take a more proactive stance." She lightly poked his cheek, to which he weakly protested, and continued, "For example, this dork over here hovered near me for the longest time before I had to put my foot down and asked him out myself. Now he has his own toothbrush in my room."
"Saeko, they didn't need to know that," said Akiteru in a strangled voice.
Tanaka and Nishinoya nodded studiously, paying more attention than they ever had in school as Saeko kept talking .
**
"Uh hey, Kuroo-senpai. Where do you and Kenma usually go out?"
"Out as in...?"
"Like...y'know....dates and stuff."
The answering smirk his captain gave in return was absolutely predatory.
"Oho? Doth mine ears deceive?" Kuroo strutted over to the second year's side, swinging a friendly arm around his shoulders. "Share with Papa Kuroo the reasons for this line of questioning."
"If I do you're just gonna laugh at me, forget it.” Grumbling, he hunched over to pick up one end of the net, folding it in sync with Nobuyuki at the other side.
“If it’s a first date, it’s usually movies right?” chimed in Yaku. “Sitting side by side in the dark, carefully linking your fingers with theirs as the on screen couple finally kiss...stuff like that. Cafes are usually a good idea too. There’s this one spot that I hear makes the best shareable parfaits.”
“Yaku-senpai, did you get that scenario from this month’s chapter of Dokidoki Love High? My sister was just talking about it at dinner last night!”
“Be quiet, Lev.”
**
As in summer, the winter training camp was grueling and relentless. True to Tanaka's claims, Karasuno did indeed win more practice rounds than last time, though they still had their fair share of flying falls and uphill running.
Over the course of planning said camp, Nekoma’s team had offered to go with Karasuno on a trip to explore the metropolitan area, mostly so that certain individuals could finally see Tokyo Tower for themselves. The day of the "Tower tour", the teams woke up bright and early to catch a train to the city center. Hinata, Noya, and Tanaka in particular drew attention from other railway patrons with their excited chatter about Tokyo Tower and Skytree while Daichi sat nearby, slightly exasperated at how loud they were being while Suga simply laughed good-naturedly at the captain's mild distress. By the time they finally reached the base of the former, they collectively agreed that it would be more prudent to take photos outside rather than wait to go in. As they wandered in search of lunch, Tanaka startled when Yamamoto suddenly looped an arm with his. “Hey, Yaku-senpai, me n’ Tanaka are gonna go this way instead,” he said, jerking a thumb towards another street. “We’ll meet you guys back at the school.”
Yaku looked back and forth between the two boys, smiling as he shooed them away, as if he had told himself a secret joke.
**
“Okay, so how’re we going to do this, exactly?” Tanaka turned to Yamamoto, bringing his hands to his chin and batting his eyelashes like a schoolgirl. Pitching his voice to as syrupy sweet a falsetto as he could, he asked, “Where are we going first, Yamamoto-senpai? The aquarium? Tokyo Disney Sea?”
“Ugh, stop. That’s creepy.”
Flipping his nonexistent hair, Tanaka scoffed. “Hmph! Some people just can’t appreciate good acting.” He glanced in the direction they were walking to see if there were any particular notable landmarks or places that Tora could be taking them. A few blocks away, he spotted a theater. Huge posters were plastered in a row, bright colors and bolded, loud fonts advertised new film releases. “Seriously? A movie?”
Yamamoto muttered defensively, “Just because it's a typical idea doesn't make it a bad one, alright?”
“Only works if you choose the right movie though. What were you thinking?” Tanaka began scanning the list of available titles, mentally bookmarking a few that looked interesting. He pointed to one. “What about this?”
Yamamoto looked at the poster, on which a couple gazed soulfully into one another’s eyes against a dark blue nightscape. It gradually transitioned into a wall of CGI flames as the woman, dressed as a firefighter, carried the man out of a burning building. “A blaze rekindled from the ashes of the past...The Fires of our Passionate Hearts?”
“Before a man can reach the heart of the one he loves, he must first understand their taste in movies.” Tanaka nodded sagely.
“Uohh, Ryuu! That’s actually a really good point!” Taketora strode up to the ticket booth, loudly declaring, “Two student tickets for Passionate Hearts.”
**
The screening room was relatively uncrowded that day, and they easily found the seats they’d chosen--a ways to the back, but in the middle for the best view. Neither could remember who initiated the popcorn fight as the trailers were playing, but at some point a disapproving tsk from the old lady who sat several rows down cowed them back into silence just as the film began. Ten minutes in, Yamamoto felt his eyes grow heavy. As they slid shut, onscreen the heroine had just stumbled upon the cafe where her love interest was a chef.
**
Yamamoto opened his eyes some time later, blinking slowly until the blurry shapes sharpened on the screen. The beanie he wore had slipped over his eyes, shading them from the brightness of the screen; he pushed it back up. Checking his watch, Yamamoto wasn't surprised to discover that he had missed a good chunk of the movie. In conclusion, either he was more tired that he'd initially believed after all that training or romantic dramas just weren't his thing. He was about to sit up for a stretch when he became aware of a heavy weight and slight dampness on his left side; it seemed that Tanaka had also fallen asleep and was now drooling on his shoulder. Gross. Whatever, he’d deal. Yamamoto gently flicked the other boy's forehead. "Hey, dude. Wake up."
"Wuh?"
Tanaka sleepily rubbed his eyes, then wiped at the dried saliva at the corner of his mouth- a moment that Yamamoto had seconds to take a mental snapshot of and appreciate. It was endearing and almost made the wet feeling on his jacket worth it.
"Man, how long was I out?"
"I think we're a little past the halfway point. Not sure since I kind of fell asleep, too."
"Oops. Well, so much for understanding gentler tastes and all that." Tanaka shrugged and they both turned their attention back to the movie, attempting to piece together what happened in the past hour as they polished off the remaining popcorn.
**
Walking out the theater, Tanaka's eyes were still slightly watery--as were Yamamoto's.
"That was beautiful."
"Seriously, man. I'm glad we caught the last half. When the merman's colony came out of the ocean to beg that he come home, and he had to decide whether to return to the sea to his colony or stay on land to achieve his dreams as a chef. Friggin' intense." Yamamoto pulled out a tissue from a small pack in his pocket and dabbed at his eyes.
Tanaka grabbed one as well, blowing his nose. "Seriously. Not to mention the scene where he and the firefighter promised to support each other's dreams. Man."
"Yeah! Those cops were pretty cool, too. Could've done without the alien and mad scientist subplot, though. Maybe it would've made more sense if we'd seen the first half."
"Maybe when it comes out on DVD we can try watching it again." As they stepped through the automated glass doors, Tanaka let out a small stream of expletives. "What the hell, it's freezing out here!" He rubbed his hands together and hopped up and down several times to warm up. He threw in a few stretches for good measure. "Alright, where to next?"
"Uh. There's an arcade a couple blocks down?"
"Oh, nice. Haven't been to one of those since I was knee high. Let's go!"
"Hold up," said Yamamoto. He slipped his beanie off and tossed it to the other boy. "Here, wouldn't want all the heat to escape through your head or something."
"WELL EXCUSE YOU. I'll have you know that my buzz cut is perfectly soft and fuzzy and NICE!" Tanaka yelled as he caught the hat. He looked at it, briefly rubbed at the gray wool between his fingers, marveling at the softness and the warmth it retained from when it had sat on Yamamoto's head. He put it on. "Wow this is pretty comfy. Thanks, Tora."
"Anything for you," As soon as the words slipped from his mouth Yamamoto bit his lip, inwardly cursing himself as he felt his face warm from embarrassment. He hurriedly added, "That's what bros are for, right?"
"R-right!" replied Tanaka as he tugged the beanie a little lower over his ears. With that, the pair shuffled through the cold to their next destination.
**
"You're just asking for an ass kicking, Tora!" Tanaka had tossed off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.
"I could say the same, Ryuu!"
"My sister is part of a wadaiko performance group, and as her younger brother I've picked up some moves that'll leave you in the dust. Rhythm runs in our very veins!"
"Say what you want, but I have this game at home. Cleared all the songs, too. WHAT NOW, HUH?"
"Words are meaningless if you can't back them up, city boy!"
“En garde, country hick!”
The pair of them stood side by side, taiko drumstick controllers at the ready. The cartoon drawing of a sentient taiko drum chirped the start of the song and they were off, pounding out the rhythm of the newest Nokemon opening theme. Yamamoto’s victory yell was immediately followed by Tanaka’s demand for a rematch. The following selection yielded the opposite result and was followed by another round. Then another. Then another.
Approximately twenty songs later, Yamamoto was cursing the annoyingly consistent alternating between wins and losses as he reached into his back pocket for more coins, only to find it empty. "Crap, I'm low on change ."
Tanaka was practically sneering as he asked, “You sure it’s not because you’re beating me by one song right now?”
Pulling the inner lining of his jeans pockets out, Yamamoto shrugged. “No, seriously. I’m out of coins. I still have a few bills in my jacket but that should probably--”
Both of them stared down at Yamamoto’s stomach as it let out a pitiful growl.
“--be spent on food.”
Tanaka gave a loud snort, failing horribly at holding in his laughter. That is, until his own stomach betrayed his with an answering whine of its own. Neither spoke a word as the bright flashing lights of the game console behind them cheerfully announced a countdown before the end of the game session. Then, scratching his cheek, he finally asked, “So, where d’ya wanna eat?”
“Hm,” Yamamoto pondered his options, several noodle joints popping to mind before it occurred to him that he was still, by all intents and purposes, trying to prove to Tanaka that he had good taste in date spots. “Yaku-senpai recommended a place the other day, we can go check it out.”
**
Tanaka leaned across their small table, the surface hardly much wider than a school desk (the wood it was made from was clearly pricier than any plywood, though). “Yo, so I know we’re supposed to be on a ‘date’ and all but would you seriously come to a place like this of your own free will?”
“D-don’t look at me! I didn’t realize it’d be like this.” Yamamoto had suspected that the cafe Yaku-senpai had mentioned might be a little more on the girly side, but he hadn’t been quite prepared for the dollhouse they’d stepped into. Pastel colored placemats and lace were on every table. He wasn’t the tallest person on the Nekoma team, but squeezed into his chair he felt like a giant; based on his expression, Tanaka undoubtedly shared similar thoughts. Well, it was too late now, they’d already agreed to split a parfait. The girl who had nervously taken their order had squeaked it back to them to confirm before practically fleeing back to the kitchen. Had there been something on his face?
It wasn’t too long before another server came to their table to deliver their dessert and two waters, handing a long silver spoon to each and encouraging them to dig in as she continued to the next booth. Instead, they stared at it in horror.
“This is for one person, right? We agreed on a single serving, right?!”
“I’m positive that’s what I said! The standard parfait!”
It was a hefty looking glass filled with a delicate tower of layered ice cream, cake, and fruits topped with a perfectly swirled dollop of whipped cream. How anyone could get through one singlehandedly baffled Yamamoto and had him reaching for his water before he could even take a bite. Having done so, he was actually impressed by how fresh the fruit was in his first bite. Several more led to regret.
“Ryuu, how do people finish these things?”
“You’re asking the wrong guy, Tora.” Tanaka set down his spoon and took a deep gulp of his iced water. He said,“Tsukishima might know; according to his big bro Aki the kid can eat several slices of strawberry shortcake in one sitting.”
“The blond with the glasses right? That’s… actually really impressive,” admitted Yamamoto. He dug at the parfait for another piece of mango. “So you guys are seriously gonna be in-laws at some point?”
Tanaka shrugged. “Who knows, man. Sis and Aki have been pretty cozy the past couple of months.” He swirled his spoon in the slowly melting ice cream. Contemplating the possibility, his bored expression lifted into one of devilish glee, “Tsukishima would be absolutely horrified the day they announce their engagement.”
“You’d better invite me to the wedding so that I can see this happen in person.”
“Of course, man! What are bros for, right?”
Yamamoto teared up, slightly overwhelmed by another reminder of how much he appreciated this kindred spirit. He clapped Tanaka’s hand and squeezed it as he exclaimed, “Bro!”
“Bro!!”
“Bro!!!”
“BRO!!!!!!”
After a few more similar exchanges a server ran over. She coughed delicately to get their attention and said, “Excuse me, sirs, but if you could perhaps quiet down a bit?”
Tanaka blinked, then let go of Yamamoto’s hand. “Oh, sorry.” He ducked his head slightly in apology, and it was then that he noticed the clock on the adjacent wall. “Actually, since you’re here, can we get the bill?” When the server nodded and left, he looked Yamamoto in the eye. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
It wasn’t hard to guess, to be honest. He replied, “Real food?”
“Real food. Know any good noodle shops around here?”
Yamamoto couldn’t hide his smile; they really were on a similar wavelength or something. “Several, actually.”
“Perfect.”
**
The sound Tanaka made after his first bite of noodles was comparable to the joy of a parched traveler finding water in the desert. “Oh man, that hits the spot.”
Yamamoto nodded enthusiastically, “Definitely an improvement, yup.”
A chime rang out, followed by a light buzz from Tanaka’s cell phone. Mid-chew, he flipped it open and checked the text he’d received. Slurping the rest of the noodle up, he said, “Daichi-san says we should probably head back soon.”
The boy across from him glanced at his watch; his eyes widened. “Crap, it’s actually pretty late. Hurry it up, Ryuu!”
They quickly scarfed down the rest of their meal, leaving a somewhat uncomfortable feeling at the pit of their stomachs as they half-waddled to the station. The trip back was peaceful; they played several rounds of rock paper scissors when they grew tired of mindlessly gazing at the scenery in their food-induced stupor.
The relative silence continued once they’d reached their stop and were trekking back to camp. It felt a little weird to Tanaka, since they’d usually be trading banter about this or that 95% of the time (well, to be honest that statistic was a random number, but he was pretty sure it was accurate). He breathed out air to watch the white condensation it created.
“Choo choo,” he puffed.
Yamamoto snorted next to him. “I used to do that too when I was a kid, pretending to be a train when the weather was cold enough.”
“The weather’s perfect for it right now! Let’s be racing trains.” Tanaka took a deep gulp of air and began to slowly exhale it as he moved, creating a gentle stream of white condensation in his wake. Yamamoto whistled, impressed.
When he ran out of breath, Tanaka stopped where he was. “Ah, crap. Not as good as I used to be.” He looked up and gazed at Yamamoto. “Hey, Tora, you didn’t follow me.”
Watching him from only a few meters away, Yamamoto couldn’t shake the feeling that in that moment Tanaka seemed further away than he’d been the entire day. Because of that, he couldn’t shake how nervous he suddenly felt. The boy tried to take a steadying breath before he exhaled slowly. Then, he took as big a breath as he could, only to bowl over and start coughing.
“Shit, dude, you okay?!” Tanaka jogged over to him and slapped his back a few times. Yamamoto raised a hand to indicate that he was fine, coughing a few more times and clearing his throat.
“‘m fine. Showed some pretty bad form there, haha!” Having recovered, he sat down right in the middle of the sidewalk. “To be honest, I almost thought I was a goner for a second.”
Tanaka was silent. He kneeled down to join his friend on the ground, cursing slightly at the cold dampness of the concrete. He looked up, saying, “Y’know... To be perfectly honest, man, today’s thing kinda felt less like how you’d date a girl and more like two guys hanging out.”
Yamamoto considered this. His face gradually paled as he recalled the day’s events and the abject failures of getting in touch with his romantic side. He groaned as he curled his knees in towards him. “I’m a fraud, sorry for lying to ya, bro.”
“It’s okay, I kind of figured. Not like I really have much experience of my own.”
They sat together, looking up at whatever stars were bright enough to shine in spite of the sodium lights of the city. Tanaka rubbed his nose lightly and nodded to himself as he came to a conclusion. He stood up and offered his hand to Yamamoto; once he’d helped the other boy up, he didn’t let go. Carefully avoiding direct eye contact, he asked, “This okay with you?”
Yamamoto looked at their linked hands, realization dawning on his face. Grinning wide, he squeezed Tanaka’s hand. “Yeah.” Gathering his courage, he steeled himself and swooped in to drop a light peck on the other boy’s cheek. He could feel his own face heat up. “This is okay.”
**
Kuroo peered out the window, watching with interest as the buzz cut kid and Yamamoto strode in through the gates. Holding hands. Ohoho.
A chesire grin spread across the captain’s face. He turned back into the hallway with a swagger in his step. “Hey, Sawamura, pay up!” he yelled, and took delight in the answering groan.