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They had just finished locking up Onigiri Miya and are on their way home when Osamu announces,
“I want bubble tea.”
Atsumu stops in his tracks. “Samu, no,” he whines. “I’m tired and I wanna go home.”
“Tired from what? Sittin’ in my store and eatin’ all my food like the freeloader ya are?”
“Shaddap, I had a hard day at practice today,” Atsumu grumbles.
Osamu rolls his eyes. “So did Rin but ya don’t see him complainin’ like a big baby, do ya?”
Atsumu glares at Osamu, then glares at Suna for being a superhuman freak who doesn’t display any signs of exhaustion.
“Anyway,” Osamu continues. “There’s a new milk tea shop that just opened up a couple blocks from here and I’ve been meanin’ to try it.”
“Can’t ya go a different day?”
“No.”
Atsumu groans. “I can’t even drink milk tea. Ya know what it does to my stomach.”
“Then don’t get anything.”
Osamu grabs Suna’s hand and starts leading him down the street, and just like that, Atsumu is sighing and dragging his heavy limbs to a little shop two blocks away from Onigiri Miya.
There’s a chalkboard sign on the pavement that has the drink of the day and some of the bestsellers written in loopy handwriting, but Atsumu doesn’t have time to look at it before Osamu pushes him through the door.
He almost trips, and just as he’s about to regain his footing and smack Osamu on the back of the head, the sight before him almost makes him trip again.
The small shop is decorated beautifully, with vines trailing down a brick accent wall and a waterfall trickling into a stone basin, and a soft neon sign in the outline of a little fox.
But none of that is what makes Atsumu lose his breath.
In fact, nothing even registers in his mind other than the beautiful man standing behind the counter, wiping it down with a rag. He has soft brown eyes and light grey hair that’s black at the ends and he’s so pretty that Atsumu wants to cry.
When the man notices them, he pushes the rag to the side, dusts his hands off on his black apron, and offers them a welcoming smile.
“Welcome to Kitsu Tea,” the man says and Atsumu is pretty sure that his voice is the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard in his life. “If you have questions or would like any recommendations please let me know.”
“We just need a minute to look at the menu,” Osamu says.
The man nods. “Let me know whenever you’re ready to order.”
Osamu and Suna busy themselves with looking at the menu, muttering quietly about the options.
Atsumu, however, is too distracted by watching the man to even spare a glance at the menu.
He’s stepped back from the counter, maintaining a polite distance between himself and the three of them and waits patiently for them to make a selection.
“Do ya know what yer gettin’?” Osamu asks, breaking him out of his daze.
“Um.” Atsumu looks at the menu for a second but he can’t process any of the words because a literal angel is standing five feet away from him and it’s making it hard for him to concentrate. “No.”
Osamu raises a brow but says nothing else.
He and Suna step up to order and Atsumu is too caught up in watching the way the man furrows his brow in concentration as he writes their orders down on the sides of their cups to notice that they’ve finished ordering.
Suddenly, the man looks up at him and Atsumu forgets how to breathe because they’re making direct eye contact and he doesn’t know why his heart is beating so fast holy shit-
“Tsumu.” Osamu nudges him. Atsumu snaps out of it and notices that not only is the man still staring at him, but Osamu and Suna are too. Belatedly, he realizes that it’s his turn to order.
Atsumu moves closer to the counter—closer to him— and he still doesn’t know what he wants, so he says the only thing that won’t make him sound like a complete idiot.
“Um, what do ya recommend?”
“My personal favorite is the honeydew milk tea, but everything else is good, too,” the man says, and now that Atsumu is close enough, he can see the little name tag pinned to his chest.
Kita, it reads, and isn’t that just a beautiful name. Atsumu thinks it suits him perfectly.
“Okay, I’ll take one of those then.”
Behind him, Osamu splutters and Suna lets out a choking sound that sounds a lot like a laugh.
Atsumu ignores them and pulls out his wallet, giving Kita his card. Once he finishes paying, Kita goes back to his station and starts making the drinks, and even though Atsumu would much rather prefer to stand here and watch him, his view of Kita is ruined by his scrub of a brother.
“What the fuck is up with you? Ya know you can't have dairy,” Osamu says.
Atsumu quickly shushes him. “Be quiet. Kita-san might hear,” he whispers.
“Kita-san?” Osamu repeats, unimpressed.
Osamu spares a look at Kita, who’s busy making their drinks and Atsumu can practically see the moment when realization hits.
“Oh,” Osamu draws out. “So that’s why ya ordered a milk tea even though it’s gonna make ya shit yer brains out later.”
Atsumu claps a hand over Osamu’s mouth. “Shut up,” he hisses.
Osamu slaps his hand away. “Ya better disinfect every inch of that bathroom when yer done usin’ it.”
“I’m not gonna be shittin my brains out. I’m not even gonna drink it,” Atsumu grumbles.
“Then why’d you order it?” Suna raises an eyebrow.
“Because Kita-san recommended it,” Osamu says, rolling his eyes.
Before Atsumu can respond, Kita comes over with their drinks and places them on the counter.
“We have a honeydew milk tea, a taro milk tea, and a Thai tea.”
Osamu and Suna reach over to take theirs first and when Atsumu goes over to take his, Kita looks at him appraisingly.
“Enjoy,” Kita says and Atsumu feels his face warm up.
“Thank you,” Atsumu mumbles, trying his best to avoid direct eye contact.
Osamu scoffs and grabs onto the collar of Atsumu’s shirt, dragging him out of the store.
“Have a nice day,” Suna calls on their way out.
“Thank you,” Kita says, already wiping down the counters again. “You do the same.”
As they start their walk home, Atsumu pops his straw through the plastic on the top and takes a small sip of the drink. He widens his eyes at how good it tastes, but figures he shouldn’t be surprised since Kita was the one who made it.
“I thought you weren’t gonna drink it,” Suna says, sipping at his own drink.
Atsumu shrugs and takes another sip.
He wasn’t gonna throw away a drink that Kita made for him. Kita spent time making this drink for Atsumu and he would be damned if he didn’t savor it.
Osamu watches him with disgust, as if he can already imagine the smell that’s gonna take over their apartment later that night.
He turns to Suna. “I’m staying at your place tonight.”
~
The next day at practice Atumu is still feeling a little queasy. Just like Osamu said, the drink did indeed make Atsumu shit his brains out last night. He’s been drinking a lot of water throughout the day but unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough to flush the dairy out of his system.
After the fourth time Atsumu fails to sync up his set with Sakusa, Sakusa turns to him with a glare.
“What’s wrong with you today?”
“Nothin’. I just—” Atsumu starts.
“Actually, I don’t care.” Sakusa cuts off. “Whatever it is, get over it because it’s getting annoying.”
“Damn, Omi-kun,” Bokuto whistles. “No need to be so harsh. He just needs a little longer to warm up today, right, Tsum-Tsum?” Bokuto turns to him.
“Uh, yeah.”
“See?” Bokuto says to Sakusa.
“Whatever.” Sakusa rolls his eyes. “I’m gonna go do serving practice. You better be warmed up by the time I’m done, Miya.”
Atsumu doesn’t know how to say that he’s probably gonna suck the whole day so instead he just nods. Sakusa gives him one last glare before heading over to where Inunaki is about to practice serving.
“Don’t listen to Omi,” Bokuto says. “You know how he gets.”
Atsumu nods because he does know.
Sakusa and Atsumu bicker often but Atsumu is pretty sure that’s just how Sakusa shows that he cares. Thankfully, Atsumu grew up with an equally prickly twin so he’s learned not to take anything Sakusa says to heart.
“Anyway, you sure you’re okay?” Bokuto asks, furrowing his brows in concern. “I noticed you were kinda out of it today, too.”
“I’m fine, Bokkun, just feelin’ a little under the weather. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.” Atsumu reassures.
Bokuto gives him a wide smile and pats him on the back. “Good to hear. Now c’mon, throw up some more tosses for me.”
Three hours later, they’ve finally finished up practice and everyone’s slowly trickling out of the gym.
Right before Atsumu heads out, he hears Sakusa call out his name. When he turns around, he sees him holding out a bottle of gatorade.
“Get your electrolytes up and go home and get some rest so you’re better for tomorrow,” Sakusa says.
“Aw, Omi-kun, ya really do care,” Atsumu teases, taking the bottle.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Miya,” Sakusa scoffs. “I just don’t want another practice wasted because you don’t know how to take care of yourself.”
Atsumu salutes. “Will do, Omi-kun.”
Sakusa just rolls his eyes before leaving.
On his way home, Atsumu decides to pass by Kitsu tea. He won’t order anything, he won’t even go in, he just wants to see Kita again.
He stops outside the shop, and sure enough Kita is in there making drinks. There’s also a short line and Atsumu is happy to know that business is doing well. Kita deserves it.
He stands and watches Kita interact with customers for a couple minutes and after he feels like enough of a stalker, he heads home feeling better than he has all day.
~
The next day on his way back from practice he passes by Kitsu Tea again. This time, the shop is empty, except for Kita who is sweeping.
After what happened last time, Atsumu tells himself that he won’t get a milk tea, but he still needs to order something so that he has a reason to go in and talk to Kita.
Atsumu takes a deep breath and with shaky hands, he pulls the door open. When Kita spots him, he sets the broom against the wall and smiles at him.
“Welcome back,” Kita says, and Atsumu’s heart almost stops because Kita remembers him.
Atsumu lets out a nervous laugh. “It was so good I had to come back for more.”
“I’m glad you liked it,” Kita says. “Do you already know what you want or do you still need a couple minutes?”
Atsumu tries looking at the menu, but just like last time, he finds it hard to focus.
“Do ya have any more recommendations?”
“If you liked the honeydew last time then I think you’ll really like the lychee milk tea.”
And, oh fuck, Atsumu forgot to mention that he didn’t want a milk tea.
“Okay, I’ll have one of those then. Size small, please,” Atsumu finds himself saying regardless.
It’s too late to say no now. If Kita thinks he’ll like the lychee milk tea then he has to get it, right?
Kita quietly punches his order into the system and rings him up. He steps to the side to start making the drink and Atsumu is content with just watching, when suddenly Kita speaks up.
“Did you just come back from practice?”
Atsumu is practically buzzing with excitement at the fact that Kita spoke to him, but when the words actually register in his mind, that excitement is replaced by confusion.
“Uh, yeah,” Atsumu furrows a brow. “How’d ya know?”
“Well I sort of figured from your jacket and bag.”
Atsumu looks down, and oh right, both his jacket and gym bag are printed with the team’s emblem and his name. Sometimes he forgets that he’s sort of a celebrity (though Osamu would smack him if he caught him thinking that).
“Are ya a fan of volleyball then?” Atsumu asks just as Kita pops his drink into the machine that puts the lids on.
“I used to play in highschool, but now I mainly just watch matches on t.v. if I have the chance,” Kita explains, taking the drink out of the machine, grabbing a straw, and bringing them over to Atsumu.
“Thank you.” Atsumu grabs the drink and pops the straw through the plastic lid. He takes a sip and hums as the sweet drink meets his taste buds.
“Wow,” he says around a tapioca ball. “This is really good.”
“Better than the honeydew?” Kita asks.
Atsumu’s not really sure which he likes better, so he tries it again. One more sip won’t hurt him, right?
He chews the tapioca for a second before shrugging. “I don’t know. I like them both.”
Kita nods, seemingly happy with his answer.
Atsumu can already feel his stomach starting to hurt so he sets the drink down and promises himself that he won’t take another sip.
Kita doesn’t say anything else and Atsumu is slightly disappointed that he finished making the drink because now it means he has to leave. But unlike before, Kita stays at the front counter with Atsumu instead of immediately going to wipe down his station.
Atsumu takes that as a sign that Kita still wants to talk to him. He smiles before continuing, “So, are ya a fan of the Black Jackals?”
Kita seems to think for a second. “I don’t particularly favor any team but I do enjoy watching you guys. You’re doing really good this season.”
Atsumu feels his heart soar at that.
Kita just complimented him. He just said he was doing good this season. Sure, he may have been referencing the whole team, but Atsumu is their starting setter so he has a whole lot to do with the team's performance and he’ll be damned if he lets any of those other fuckers take credit for the compliment Kita gave him.
“Thanks.” Atsumu smiles brightly. “Ya should come see one of our matches in person. I’ll be sure to get ya a good seat.”
Kita smiles softly at that. “I might just have to.”
Atsumu smiles again. It seems that when he’s around Kita that’s all he can do and he’s definitely not complaining about that.
When Atsumu notices Kita looking at him expectantly, he furrows a brow in confusion.
“What?”
“You don’t like the drink, do you?” Kita asks. He doesn’t look upset. In fact, it seems to make him smile.
“What?” Atsumu sputters. “Of course I do. What makes ya think that?”
“You haven’t drank any more of it since you first tried it.”
“So? That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It’s okay if you don’t like it, Atsumu. Everyone has different preferences.” Kita says.
“I do like it. See,” Atsumu proves his point by taking an exaggerated sip of the bubble tea. The damage to his stomach has already been done for the day so it doesn’t make a difference at this point.
This makes Kita laugh softly and Atsumu’s heart aches at the sound.
“Whatever you say, Atsumu.”
Before Atsumu can respond, the bell at the door chimes, indicating a new customer. Atsumu takes this as his cue to leave.
“Well, I guess I should go now. See ya later, Kita-san,” he says even though he wants nothing more than to stay.
“Bye, Atsumu,” Kita waves before turning to the new customer and welcoming them.
Once he gets home, Atsumu groans and clutches at his stomach, quickly puts the bubble tea in the fridge for Osamu, and rushes to the bathroom.
He spends the rest of the night on the toilet.
~
The next time Atsumu walks into Kitsu Tea, Kita is busy making a drink for someone else.
Considering the fact that he’s rendered illiterate every other time he comes in, Atsumu takes the opportunity to look at the menu for the first time. After a minute, he decides on a drink that’s dairy free and figures that since he actually knows what he wants this time, he won’t have to run home clutching his stomach like he usually does.
After the customer leaves, it’s just Atsumu and Kita left in the store. Atsumu steps up to the counter and is about to order, when Kita speaks first.
“Atsumu, I’m glad you came by. I’ve been experimenting with new flavors and I want you to try them.”
Atsumu furrows his brow. “I’m flattered, Kita-san, but don’t ya got anyone else to test them out for ya? I don’t really know much about bubble tea.”
“Well I had some of my staff members try them out, but since you’re so picky when it comes to my drinks, I figure if you like them then they’re good enough to make it on the menu.”
“I’m not picky,” Atsumu says. “I’ve liked everything that you’ve made me.” Kita raises a brow at that. “Besides, are ya sure ya wanna trust my judgment?”
Kita smiles softly. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Kita busies himself with making the drink and in that time, the two of them make conversation. Atsumu finds out that Kita’s favorite food is tofu hamburgers, he’s the oldest of three siblings and most importantly, Atsumu finally gets to learn more about his high school volleyball career.
“How come ya didn’t go pro?” Atsumu asks.
“I wasn’t good enough to go pro.”
“Aw, come on, Kita-san. I’m sure ya were really good.”
Kita seems to think for a moment. “I guess if I cared about it enough I could've gone pro. Volleyball was always something I loved, but it was never my passion.”
“And this is?” Atsumu motions to the drink in Kita’s hand.
Kita smiles softly at that. “Yeah.”
When Osamu first told him that he was quitting volleyball to open up an onigiri shop, Atsumu thought he was an idiot. He didn’t understand how making food could ever mean more to his brother than volleyball did, but looking at Kita now, Atsumu thinks he finally understands.
“As long as yer happy,” Atsumu says.
Kita hums and brings the drink over to him. Atsumu holds it up and looks at it quizzically.
“Well this certainly looks interesting.”
This makes Kita let out a little huff of laughter. “It’s not your traditional bubble tea. I told you I was experimenting with new flavors.”
Atsumu pops the straw through the lid and takes a small sip. Immediately his eyes widen. “Mmm, it’s oreo.” He says, already going in for another sip.
“How do you like it?”
“This is really good, Kita-san,” Atsumu says, and he truly means it. Nothing Kita makes for him could ever be bad.
“Are you sure about that?” Kita narrows his eyes playfully.
“I wouldn’t lie to ya, Kita-san. Ya should definitely put this on the menu. It’ll sell really good I think.”
Kita hums, looking pleased. “I think I’ll wait on that for now. I’m glad you like it, though.”
“I love it,” Atsumu says, taking another sip. “By the way, how much was this? Ya never had me pay yet.”
“Don’t worry about that. This one’s on the house.”
Atsumu furrows his brow. “No, Kita-san. Ya gotta let me pay—“
“Atsumu, I’m the one who wanted you to try out the drink. You’re doing me a favor by drinking it. It’s really not a problem,” Kita reassures.
“Still, Kita-san, I wanna support yer business. I don’t feel right takin’ freebies from ya.”
Kita smiles softly. “It’s fine, Atsumu. It’s just one drink.”
“Fine,” Atsumu says. “But that means ya gotta charge me double next time.”
“I will.”
“Promise?” Atsumu holds out his pinkie to Kita.
“Promise.” Kita smiles, hooking their pinkies together and for the rest of the night, Atsumu swears he can feel the soft brush of Kita’s finger on his.
~
A week later, he’s at practice when Coach Foster asks to have a word with him.
The rest of the team watches shamelessly as Atsumu follows Coach to his office, only getting back to work when Meian scolds them.
Atsumu’s heart beats when Coach motions for him to enter and closes the door behind him and he gets brief flashbacks of the times he was sent to the principal’s office when he was younger.
“Have a seat, Miya,” Coach points to one of the chairs across from his desk.
Atsumu obliges, sitting down on the edge of the lumpy chair. “Is everythin’ okay, Coach?”
“That’s what I want to know, Miya,” Coach says. “You’ve been off your game recently, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed. We’re all worried about you and we want you to be at your best. Our team depends on you.”
Atsumu feels a sudden bout of guilt.
Every day after practice, he visits Kitsu Tea to see Kita but ends up leaving with a half empty cup and an upset stomach because he doesn’t want Kita to think he doesn’t like the drinks.
He didn’t realize how much it had been affecting his team and Atsumu supposes he’s been pretty selfish.
“I’m sorry, Coach,” Atsumu ducks his head. “I’ve been goin’ through somethin’ but I’ll try to push it aside for the good of the team.”
Coach furrows his brow. “What kind of something?”
Atsumu feels his face get hot. “Uh, somethin’ physical?” It comes out as a question.
“Physical? Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?” Coach questions.
“No!” Atsumu blurts. “No doctor. I’m fine, I promise. I’ll be back to normal in a couple days. I’m sorry for bringin’ the team down.”
“Don’t worry about that now, Miya. Just worry about getting better.”
Atsumu nods. “Thanks, Coach.”
“Of course. Now get back to practice.”
Atsumu exits his office and immediately he’s met with his teammates' curious faces.
“What’d he say?” Bokuto asks.
“Probably telling him how badly he’s been sucking recently,” Sakusa says, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t be an asshole, Sakusa,” Inunaki scolds.
“No, he’s right,” Atsumu sighs, and everyone’s jaw drops, even Sakusa’s. Atsumu realizes this is probably the first time he’s agreed with Sakusa instead of taking the bait and arguing with him. “I’m sorry, guys. I’ll try to be better.”
No one says anything, too shocked at the fact that Atsumu’s actually displaying signs of guilt.
“Don’t apologize,” Sakusa says, always the first to recover. “It makes it even weirder.”
Atsumu just nods. He doesn’t say anything for the rest of practice.
~
Atsumu doesn’t go to Kitsu Tea that day. Or the next day. Or the day after. In fact, he doesn’t go back for another two weeks.
In that time, just like he promised his team, he goes back to normal and is playing better than ever. They win their game and everyone congratulates Atsumu on how well he played.
“Glad to have you back, Miya.” Meian claps him on the shoulder.
Atsumu smiles at him, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
In fact, most of his smiles these days haven’t been reaching his eyes and Atsumu supposes it’s because of the lack of Kita in his life.
It’s only when he gets home that night that and gets bitched out by Osamu that he realizes how stupid he’s been.
“Ya know ya can just ask for non dairy drinks, right?” Osamu says after Atsumu gets home, flops on the couch, and spends half an hour complaining about how he isn’t allowed to see Kita anymore.
“I know, but every time I go in he already knows which drink he wants to make me because he thinks I don’t like the other ones,” Atsumu whines. “It’s like he’s trying to make the perfect drink for me and I feel bad sayin’ no to him.”
“I’m pretty sure he’d rather ya say no to a drink than stop showin’ up to his store altogether,” Osamu says. “He probably thinks he scared ya away.”
This makes Atsumu widen his eyes and sit up straight. “Shit. Shit shit shit. Yer right.”
He hadn’t even thought about how this might seem to Kita. Kita, who tries his best to make a drink that he thinks Atsumu would like, and Atsumu, who just stops showing up one day. Kita probably thinks that Atsumu doesn’t want to see him anymore.
“Idiot,” Osamu grumbles.
“Samu,” Atsumu whines. “What do I do? He probably thinks I hate him now.”
“Just go see him tomorrow and tell him you’ve been busy with the team or somethin’.”
“I don’t wanna wait that long,” Atsumu pouts. This earns him a disgusted look from Osamu.
“Okay, well I dunno what ya want me to say. It’s not my fault that ya handled this situation in literally the worst way possible.”
“Do you think he’s still open?” Atsumu asks, already getting up to retrieve his coat from the closet.
“I dunno, probably,” Osamu says, then widens his eyes after a second. “What ya wanna go now?”
“I’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight if I don’t go talk to him first,” Atsumu calls out, already halfway out the door.
He runs the short distance to Kitsu Tea, praying that Kita will still be there when he arrives. When he gets close to the shop and it comes into his view from down the street, his heart sinks when he sees that all the lights are turned off and the open sign is no longer glowing.
Just as he’s about to turn back, he sees a dark figure walking along the side of the building. Atsumu squints and makes out two toned hair and a grey jacket.
“Kita-san?” Atsumu says a bit too loud.
Kita flinches violently and drops his keys on the floor, but when he looks up and sees Atsumu, his shoulders sag in relief.
“Atsumu, you almost gave me a heart attack,” he says, reaching down to pick up his keys at the same time that Atsumu does. Their hands brush for a moment before Atsumu draws back, allowing Kita to grab his keys.
“Sorry about that, Kita-san,” he says sheepishly. “What’re ya doin’ here?”
“I’m locking up my store,” Kita says slowly and Atsumu mentally kicks himself at his own stupidity. “What are you doing here?”
“Ah, right.” Atsumu scratches the back of his head. “I—uh, came to see you.”
“Oh.” Kita stares blankly. “Well, we’re closed right now, so..” he trails off.
“Yeah, of course,” Atsumu says a bit too loudly again. Kita continues staring at him. “Maybe I could walk ya home?” It comes out as a question.
“I didn’t realize we were on a date.”
Atsumu blushes at that and is about to apologize, when Kita starts walking again. “Come on,” he says, turning back to look at Atsumu, the moonlight bouncing off his eyelashes and creating a shadow on his smooth skin. “Let’s go.”
Atsumu looks at him dumbly before following in his lead. He quickly falls into step beside him and they walk quietly for a minute.
“I can carry that for ya,” Atsumu breaks the silence, nodding to the bag hanging off Kita’s shoulder.
“That’s fine. It’s not really heavy.”
“C’mon, Kita-san. Ya must be tired after workin’ a full shift. Lemme just carry yer bag for ya.”
“Really, Atsumu, it’s fine.” Kita looks at him with the ghost of a smile on his face. “I walk home with this everyday. Carrying it today won’t kill me.”
“Well, Kita-san,” Atsumu says in a low tone, reaching over to grab the strap of the bag that rests on Kita’s shoulder. He waits for a second, giving Kita a chance to resist, and when he doesn’t, Atsumu slips the bag off his shoulder and puts it on his own. “Why carry it tonight when ya don't hafta?”
Kita has on a real smile now and it makes Atsumu’s heart clench. “I guess you’re right.”
“I’m right about lotsa things, Kita-san,” Atsumu says jokingly.
Kita seems to think for a moment. “That’s true. You were right about my drink.”
Atsumu furrows a brow. “Whaddya mean?”
“The oreo milk tea that I made you,” Kita explains. “You said it was gonna be a bestseller and you were right.”
Atsumu thinks for a moment, then smiles brightly when he realizes what Kita’s talking about. “You put it on the menu?”
“Yeah.” Kita nods. “Two days ago.”
“Aw, I wish I could’ve been there on the release day.”
Kita laughs softly. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t a big event or anything.”
“Yeah but still,” Atsumu frowns. “I like supporting yer business.”
“I appreciate that, Atsumu,” Kita says.
“Speakin’ of,” Atsumu sighs. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been showin’ up these past couple weeks. Life’s been crazy so I haven’t really had the time to stop by. I’m sorry about that, Kita-san.”
“What are you sorry for?” Kita laughs. “I’m just a shop owner, Atsumu. I sell bubble tea. It’s not like you have any sort of obligation to me or the shop. I’m not upset at you for not coming by recently.”
For some reason this makes a bad feeling bloom in Atsumu’s chest. “Yer not just a shop owner, Kita-san. Yer—”
And Atsumu stops, because what is Kita to Atsumu?
It’s not like the two of them have a special relationship or that Atsumu even means something to Kita.
Kita was right. At the end of the day, he makes bubble tea and Atsumu buys it. Kita simply sees him as what he is: a customer. This realization makes Atsumu’s chest tighten.
“Yer right,” he finishes with a forced smile. “Sorry.”
They spend the rest of the walk making light conversation and by the time they get to Kita’s place, Atsumu can almost pretend that there’s something more between them.
“Well, it’s just up here.” Kita points to the apartment building.
“Do ya want me to walk ya up?” Atsumu asks hopefully.
“No, that’s okay.” Kita shakes his head, taking his bag from Atsumu. “You should head home.”
“Yeah, I guess I should.” Atsumu says. “Goodnight, Kita-san.”
“Goodnight, Atsumu. Thanks for the company.”
Kita waves then turns on his heel, heading towards the front door. Atsumu watches him the whole way up, only starting back home when Kita is out of his view.
~
It’s the morning of one of their games, and as Atsumu is making the short walk to the Black Jackals stadium, he decides he wants to see Kita. He’s got some time to spare and he doesn’t expect it to take long anyway, so when he reaches the intersection that leads straight to the stadium, he takes a left to go to Kitsu Tea.
When he gets there, he’s surprised to find the door locked. Despite the early hour, a part of him still expected Kita to be there, but when Atsumu presses his face against the glass to look inside, he sees the store empty.
This doesn’t stop him from knocking on the door with the hope that Kita is in there. When nothing happens, Atsumu sighs and turns to leave.
He’s halfway down the street when he hears Kita call his name. Atsumu turns back and sees Kita peeking his head out the door, motioning for him to come in. Atsumu smiles brightly and jogs back to the store.
“Hey, Kita-san,” he says when he’s close enough.
“Hi, Atsumu.” Kita steps out of the way and allows Atsumu to come in, locking the door behind him.
“It seemed like the place was empty.”
“We don’t open for another hour but I was in the back making tapioca,” Kita says and now Atsumu notices that he has a streak of flour dusting his cheek. It takes all his willpower to not reach up and brush it off.
Instead, he clasps his hands behind his back and follows Kita into the kitchen.
“Are ya sure I’m allowed to be in here?” Atsumu asks, peering into a large pot that’s simmering on the stove. It has hundreds of tiny tapioca balls in it and Kita grabs the big metal spoon that’s off to the side to stir them.
“Why wouldn’t you be?” Kita asks, not looking up from the pot. Something about the way Kita so easily welcomes Atsumu into his life makes him smile.
“Do you want something to drink?” Kita asks, finally looking up at him. “The tapioca isn’t ready but I can just make you tea if you want.”
“Nah, that’s okay,” Atsumu says. “I have a game today, so I have to get goin’ soon, but I just wanted to drop by and say hi.”
“That’s all the more reason to have some tea. It’ll help soothe you before your game.”
Atsumu thinks for a moment, but, really, his mind was made up before Kita even asked. “I guess I can stay for a cup.”
Kita smiles softly, looking up at him through thick eyelashes, and Atsumu decides that he would stay for a million cups of tea if it meant Kita kept looking at him like that.
~
When he gets to the stadium, he’s only a couple minutes late, and luckily, he’s not even the last one to show up.
“Where’s Shoyo?” Meian asks after they’ve all gathered in the locker room.
“Here,” Hinata calls out, running into the locker room with his jersey over his head. He bumps into a wall, prompting Bokuto to burst out laughing, then finishes pulling his shirt down and runs over to the rest of the team.
“Remember, guys, today’s a really important game.” Meian starts his pregame speech as soon as everyone settles down. Coach Foster stands off to the side with one of their managers. “I’m sure you all remember how tough our opponents were last season, and I can assure you they’ve only gotten better. I need all of you at the top of your game so we can win this, alright?”
The team cheers and Bokuto thumps Atsumu’s back, before they all run out into the main stadium to begin warm ups.
They take the first set with ease, but halfway through the second set, Atsumu starts to feel sick. He clutches his stomach and wills the queasiness to go away, hoping that no one else notices.
“Fuck,” he hisses under his breath.
Atsumu thought Kita had just made him plain tea, but he must have added some milk to it. He wants to kick himself for being so stupid, but ultimately decides that directing the last bit of energy that he has towards the game is more important.
If he tries hard enough, he can make it through these last two sets. He just has to calm down and ignore the painful cramping in his stomach so they can win—
Atsumu cries out and doubles over in pain when another wave of nausea hits him. He misses the set and the ball falls to the floor with a little thump.
Immediately his teammates are surrounding him, trying to see what happened to him. Coach Foster calls a timeout and Meian leads Atsumu over to the bench.
“Miya, what’s wrong?” Coach sounds worried and Atsumu realizes that it’s probably because they’re gonna lose the game and it’s all his fault.
“I’m sorry.” He shakes his head, keeping it down. He can’t look his teammates in the eye. Not after he let them down like this.
“Miya, you have to tell us what’s wrong.” Meian tries to lift Atsumu’s head up, but Atsumu keeps it firmly in place, clenching his eyes shut with whispered repeats of i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry.
Their athletic trainer steers Atsumu back towards the locker room, all the noise fading away and leaving him with the pounding of his own head.
“I’m fine,” he tells the athletic trainer, and it comes out strained.
He runs to the bathroom and locks himself in there for the rest of the game, not coming out until he hears a loud pounding on the door.
“Tsumu, open up,” the voice yells.
“Go away, Samu,” he yells back.
“Open the door, ya idiot. Stop mopin’ in there and come face the consequences of yer stupid actions.”
Atsumu swings the door open and comes face to face with his angry brother.
“Yer lucky I didn’t tell yer team what’s really goin’ on, otherwise they’d bench ya for the rest of the season because of yer stupidity.”
Atsumu ignores him and asks the only thing that matters right now. “How bad did we lose?”
“We actually won,” Osamu says. “No thanks to you.”
Atsumu’s jaw drops. “Are ya serious?”
“Ya don’t have to look so surprised.” Osamu rolls his eyes. “They’re an amazin’ team even without ya.”
“Wow,” Atsumu breathes out in relief. Most of his guilt washes away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of pride for his team.
Osamu glares at him for another minute, then sighs.
“Somethin’s gotta change, Tsumu,” he says. “Ya can’t keep goin’ on like this.”
Atsumu hangs his head because even though he’ll never admit it out loud, he knows Osamu’s right. He knows what he has to do.
~
Atsumu takes a deep breath and pulls open the door to Kitsu Tea.
“Atsumu,” Kita greets. “How was—”
“Kita-san,” Atsumu cuts off, his throat tight. “I can’t keep comin’ here anymore. I can’t keep seein’ ya.”
Kita furrows his brow in confusion but otherwise, his expression doesn’t change. “What’s wrong, Atsumu?”
Atsumu feels his face heat up. There’s no way in hell he’s telling Kita what’s been going on.
“It’s nothin’. I just—“ Atsumu cuts himself off with a shake of his head. “I just came here to say goodbye. I’m sorry, Kita-san.”
Atsumu heads for the door but Kita’s voice stops him in his tracks.
“Atsumu,” he says and that alone is enough to make Atsumu turn around and face him.
“Come here,” Kita beckons, and when has Atsumu ever been one to refuse him.
He takes a deep breath and walks towards Kita, who’s still standing behind the counter.
Atsumu has never stepped foot behind the counter because it always seemed like some sacred place that only Kita could occupy. He hesitates for a second but once Kita motions for him to come closer, he crosses the invisible barrier to Kita’s station.
When they’re an inch apart, so close that Atsumu can see the flecks of gold in Kita’s brown eyes, Kita places a hand on his shoulder.
“I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable in any way and I understand if you have to stop coming here for certain reasons, but I believe I deserve an explanation, Atsumu.” Kita stops for a second, his hand tightening on Atsumu’s shoulder. “I’ve grown quite attached to you over these past couple weeks, and though I wouldn’t want to force you into anything, I’d like to at least try to convince you to stay.”
Atsumu feels his heart break a little at that.
“Kita-san,” he whispers sadly. “Ya could never make me feel uncomfortable.”
“Then tell me what’s going on, Atsumu.”
Atsumu hangs his head, unable to meet Kita’s eye, and he doesn’t know whether it’s from shame, embarrassment, or a mixture of both.
The hand on Atsumu’s shoulder creeps up to cup his chin softly, tilting his head up to look Kita in the eye, and the soft brush of Kita’s hand on Atsumu’s face is almost enough to make his knees buckle.
Kita is right. Atsumu does owe him an explanation and how can Atsumu ever deny him anything.
Atsumu takes a deep breath. “I’m lactose intolerant,” he confesses. “Usually it’s not too bad because I avoid dairy as much as possible but obviously I haven’t been doin’ that these past couple weeks. It got pretty bad, but in the beginning I didn’t care what it did to my stomach because it was worth it to see ya. But I’ve had to miss out on practice a lot and I wasn’t able to play in our last game. You mean so much to me, Kita-san, but I can’t throw away my career—“
Atsumu’s words die off as Kita starts laughing, and Atsumu's heart almost stops at the sight.
It’s light and breathy and Kita’s face scrunches up so adorably and his cheeks are tinted a light pink and even though it’s at Atsumu’s expense, he still wants to cry because he thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever witnessed in his life and he doesn’t know how he can ever leave now.
“Kita-san?” Atsumu questions, and his voice must betray the hurt he feels at Kita laughing at him because a second later, Kita sobers up.
“Oh, Atsumu,” Kita starts and either Atsumu is dreaming or he detects a hint of fondness in his voice. “Why did you keep ordering things that hurt your stomach?”
“Because ya recommended them,” Atsumu mumbles sheepishly. “And I needed a reason to keep comin’ back.”
“You didn’t have to do that, Atsumu. I already told you that I enjoy your company.”
Atsumu’s head snaps up. “Ya actually like spendin’ time with me?”
“Of course I do,” Kita says. “I thought I made that pretty obvious when I kept designing new drinks that I thought you’d like.”
“Ya did that for me?” Atsumu breathes out in wonder. He wonders what else Kita has done in these past couple weeks to try to get Atsumu to keep coming back.
“Yes,” Kita says, moving his hand up to cup Atsumu’s cheek. “I wasn’t actually planning on adding them to the menu. I only added that first one because you liked it so much, but the others were made just for you.”
Atsumu stays quiet for a moment, taking in Kita’s features.
Up close, his eyes are lighter, almost amber in color and his hair seems even softer and fluffier. Atsumu wants nothing more than to run his hands through it.
That can wait for later, though. Instead, Atsumu brings both his hands up to cup either side of Kita’s face, brushing his thumbs over the soft skin.
“Kita-san,” Atsumu whispers, not wanting to disrupt their peace. “Can I kiss you?”
Kita doesn’t answer.
Instead, he leans up, wraps his arms around Atsumu’s neck, and presses his lips against Atsumu’s.
Atsumu sighs into the kiss as Kita’s soft lips slide against his. He reaches one hand back to play with the soft hairs at the back of his neck, keeping the other one gently cupped around Kita’s face.
When they finally break apart, Kita sighs and rests his head against Atsumu’s shoulder. Atsumu tightens his grip around him, but after a minute, it gets hard for him to stay silent.
“Kita-san?”
Kita hums.
“What does this mean for us?”
“It means you don’t have to keep missing out on games just because you want to see me.”
Atsumu flushes and he’s glad that Kita’s position hides Atsumu’s face from his view.
Then, Kita turns his head and presses a soft kiss against Atsumu’s heated cheek, making Atsumu blush even harder.
Kita smiles softly and tucks his head back into Atsumu’s shoulder. They stay like that for a while, and Atsumu is glad that no customers decide to come in during that time because he’s not ready to let go of Kita any time soon.
“Atsumu?” It’s Kita who breaks the silence this time.
“Yeah?”
“You know we have non dairy alternatives, right?”
Atsumu groans, and for the second time that night, he hears Kita burst into loud laughter, and Atsumu thinks he’s willing to have explosive diarrhea everyday for the rest of his life if it means he can keep hearing that sound.