Chapter Text
“Wait!” Nishinoya shouted at the group. “I forgot my water bottle in the gym”. The first and second years were walking home from practice together. Asahi had left early, and Daichi and Suga had stayed behind to finish cleaning up the gym.
“We’ll go with you” Ennoshita said amiably, “we haven’t gotten too far away yet”.
Tsukkishima rolled his eyes and was about to deny Tanaka’s statement, but he stopped when Yamaguchi stepped on his foot lightly and gave him a look.
“Yeah dude! We wouldn’t want anyone to kidnap you on the way back to the gym” Tanaka shouted, ruffling Noya’s hair.
“Hey! I may be short, but I could still kill a man!”
“Suuuuure” Tanaka smirked.
“If we are going to do this, can we start walking already?” Tsukki drawled.
Once The group had gotten to the gym, Ennoshita and Tanaka stopped short. They were leading the group, so Hinata, who was barely paying attention talking animatedly with Kageyama, walked straight into Tanaka with a small “oof”.
“Wha-” Hinata started, but Tanaka slapped a hand over his mouth and lifted a finger to his lips with a smirk. The rest of the team looked at them curiously, and Ennoshita pointed through the open window they were standing in front of.
“Oh” Hinata whispered against Tanaka’s hand, which was removed a second later. The first and second years crowded around a window to see Suga with his face buried in Daichi’s shoulder. They couldn’t see Daichi’s face, but Suga seemed to be shaking slightly, ad Daichi was petting his hair gently. The smirk slipped it’s way off of Tanaka’s face, at the same time as the rest of the group tensed.
Was Suga… crying?
Everyone looked to Ennoshita. He looked a little taken aback that he was the one they looked to for leadership when their captain and vice captain were… preoccupied.
“We should leave,” he whispered. “They should have privacy”. They all gave nods and started to turn around when they heard a shaky gasp. Their previous agreement out the window, they all focused again on the third years.
“I’m sorry,” Suga said as he lifted his head from Daichi’s shoulder, who moved his hands from his vice captain's hair to cup his cheeks.
“Hey, look at me” Daichi’s face was solemn. “You know it’s ok to cry, I’ve heard you tell the others. Don't be a hypocrite.”
“I know, I just feel so stupid” Suga glanced up with teary eyes.
“Are you going to tell me what’s up, or do I have to guess?” Daichi attempted at joking.
Suga gave another sigh, less shaky this time. “It’s just, I’m a third year, The vice captain, and I’m not even a starting player. Not only that, but my spot got taken by a first year”. He gave a small smile and self deprecating laugh.
Everyone turned towards Kageyama, who looked like he might cry. He has never meant to hurt his senpai. Suga hadn't even told him he wasn’t upset about being replaced.
“I-” Kageyama started, but was interrupted by Suga.
“Don’t say anything yet, I know you want to”. He waited until Daichi gave a sharp nod, then continued. “I know he deserves his place, he’s so good it’s kind of scary, but it still hurts. I know it doesn’t really matter. I know I’m probably being dramatic-”
“Hey, don’t do that. If it’s bothering you, it does matter. You aren’t being dramatic”
Suga smiled at that. “It’s just, no matter how hard I work, I’m always second place. I’m trying so hard, Daichi” a new wave of tears hit Suga, and he gripped Daichi’s shoulders. “I watch Kageyama play and I’m caught between being proud of him, and hating… hating myself”
The first and second years at the window looked lost. They’d never seen Suga break down like this. He always seemed to be in control of his emotions, and this was scaring them. Hinata was almost in tears, Kageyama was looking at his shoes, Noya was gripping Tanaka’s arm, Yamaguchi and Ennoshita were frozen with their mouths open, and Tsukki was trying to look unaffected, and was failing miserably.
“Suga,” Daichi said, lifting Suga’s chin. “Do you want me to talk to him? I could get coach Ukai to let you play more?”
Suga jumped away from Daichi, a scandalized look on his face. “Daichi. Get your head out of your ass” he said firmly crossing his arms
No one watching from the windows had heard Suga swear before, and they were all taken by surprise. Suga was a teenage boy, so they probably should’ve expected it, but his nurturing personality had made them forget that he wasn't that much older than them.
“You are not allowed to take Kageyama off the court. He earned his place and you cannot be blinded by your feelings as captain. He is our best shot at making it to Nationals and you know that. I want to keep playing as long as possible, and I’m not letting your hormonal brain stop that”
“Uhhhhh” Nishinoya said eloquently.
“Hey!” Daichi squawked. “Me caring about my boyfriend’s feelings does not mean I’m letting my hormones make my decisions!”
Tanaka slapped a hand over his mouth, and the rest of the group looked at each other with their mouths gaping.
“They’re dating?” Hinata whisper shouted.
“Did they tell anyone or were we just supposed to know?” Yamaguchi asked
“I don’t think they told anyone because I think they don't want anyone to know”
Hinata was about to ask why they wouldn’t want anyone to know, but their attention was drawn to Suga and Daichi again.
“Daichi. You aren’t allowed to abuse your position as captain for me, and that is final.” Suga stared Daichi down from a couple steps away until Daichi let out a defeated sigh.
“I guess you are right. Will you come back over here now?” he made grabby hands in Suga's direction, and Suga walked over, rolling his eyes, but with a small smile etched onto his face. Daichi pulled him into an embrace and said “That’s not all that’s bothering you though, is it?”
“You know it’s not” Suga’s words were muffled by Daichi’s shoulder where he was pressing his face in.
Daichi frowned. “It’s not your fault, you know that, right?”
Suga nodded against his shoulder. “I know it’s not, logically, but it feels like it is. I feel like I deserve it. If that makes sense?”
“It does make sense” Daichi began petting his hair again.
“What are they talking about?” Yamaguchi asked the group.
“No idea” Tanaka responded.
“Remember when you said you were second best?”
“Yes, Daichi, I do remember two minutes ago”
Daichi flushed embarrassed, but kept going. “Well, you aren’t second best. You can’t rank people like that. You say he’s better, but he just plays differently than you. You are dependable, we can trust you to always make the right call, even if it is the safe option. Kageyama takes risks, and pushes his teammates even if they can’t handle it. He may be the starting setter, but that doesn’t make him better that you”
Suga lifted his head off Daichi’s shoulder and gave him the most love sick smile ever.
“And anyways” Daichi smirked. “He’s failing literature”
“Daichi!” Suga gasped, affronted, but he was holding back laughs.
Kageyama turned bright red, even the tips of his ears and his neck.
“I’ll have to ask him if he wants me to help him out” Suga muttered.
“But seriously, Suga.” Suga looked up into Daichi’s eyes. “Just because they are horrible to you, doesn’t mean you are worth any less”.
“Daichi, they aren’t horrible to me, they just aren’t perfect” Suga looked to the ground, with a look of contemplation and sadness.
“You are too forgiving, Suga” He paused, then asked “Do you want to stay at my house tonight? I’ll text my parents. I can even invite Asahi and Kiyoko over”
Suga looked back up with a sunny smile “sure”. They made to grab their bags from the bench, and that was when The first and second years realized they were about to get found out.
They scrambled away from the window and ran down the road, trying to make as little noise as possible. Once they deemed it far enough, they all stopped under a large tree.
“Who was the ‘They’ They were talking about?” Hinata asked the group at large.
“Whoever it was must be horrible, if they could make Suga san that sad” Noya responded.
“Could it be us?” Yamaguchi asked in a small voice, hunching in on himself,
Everyone looked towards him, with worried faces. All except for Tsukki.
“No, The way Suga san was talking made it sound like they weren’t from volleyball” Tsukki said.
Everyone visibly relaxed at that.
Back at the gym, Suga walked over to the corner where a forgotten water bottle was lying. “This is Noya’s, isn’t it?”
“Looks like it,” Daichi said, inspecting the bottle. “Take it with you, we can wash it at my house then return it tomorrow”