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When Shiratorizawa lost to Inarizaki in the Interhigh of his third year of high school, Ushijima Wakatoshi had an unwavering conviction that he will meet Kita Shinsuke again. Surely, he expected it to be at the Spring Tournament in the same school year, and not at a New Year’s party several years later, but Wakatoshi is not one to fret over minor details. He has more burning questions at hand, questions he must ask immediately, such as:
"Um… can I hide here?"
Kita Shinsuke peeks out from under the bed in the guest bedroom, looks Wakatoshi up and down, and purses his lips.
"I'm afraid it would be a little cramped."
Wakatoshi takes it as polite refusal and turns on his heels to find another possible hideout until it's late enough to leave without drawing too much attention – which he deems to be exactly one minute past midnight – when a hand flies out from under the bed, grabbing onto the material of his pants.
"Come,” Kita says.“If you don't mind it being a squeeze.”
Wakatoshi looks into the sharp amber eyes that watch him calmly and he considers it.
On the one hand, he really doesn’t want to spend any more time in a room filled with the unresolved tensions between Kageyama, Hinata, and Hoshiumi, nor does he wish to be found by an over-eager Goshiki, whose signature bob he spotted in the crowd earlier. His ex-kouhai was talking excitedly with Hakuba, and from the fragments of his speech Wakatoshi could catch, Goshiki has planned to search for him during the evening.
On the other hand, Kita Shinsuke’s presence makes Wakatoshi’s insides twist and churn. He writes it off as guilt over a promise he didn’t manage to keep all those years ago of a rematch between their high school teams – he denies it has anything to do with the warm tone of Kita’s voice or the weight of those observant eyes on him.
“Thanks,” he replies, crouching down.
Kita gives him a soft smile and scoots over to allow him under the bed.
It indeed is a tight squeeze, especially for someone of Wakatoshi’s stature, but after a short while of wiggling like a worm, he manages to find an almost-comfortable position, facing Kita.
“Cozy?” Kita asks. His eyes shine in the dim light under the bed, and Wakatoshi could swear he sees a tiny teasing smirk in the corner of Kita’s lips as he speaks.
Wakatoshi grimaces. He is not one to lie, ever. “It’s efficient,” he says. “Thank you.”
Kita chuckles at his response. “I’m glad to be of service, Ushijima-san.”
Wakatoshi is not surprised Kita Shinsuke recognized him – he is part of the national team along with Kita’s classmate and kouhai from Inarizaki, after all – yet it makes him happy. “You saved me, Kita” he says with the rare shadow of a smile on his lips.
If Kita is surprised to have been remembered, he doesn’t show.
“So, what exactly are you hiding from, Ushijima-san?” he asks.
“Overly competitive idiots who started a drinking contest,” Wakatoshi replies, then, thinking about Goshiki, he adds: “and an overeager kouhai. You?”
“The overeager kouhai part sounds accurate,” Kita laughs, and he blinks at Wakatoshi with those almost-yellow eyes. It takes Wakatoshi a few moments to realize, Kita is trying to wink. It takes absolutely no added time for his heart to painfully flutter.
Kita goes on, his soft voice hushed in order not to be heard out on the corridor. He talks about Miya Atsumu and how he managed to get both of those monster twins to work for him on his farm when they’d paid him a visit over the summer. The mental image of Atsumu whining because of the heat steals a smile onto Wakatoshi’s lips. The conversation turns into a discussion about Osamu’s restaurant and Tendou’s career as a chocolatier, ending ultimately on the topic of food.
“Did you try the mini tarts?” Kita asks then.
“I didn’t get to reach the food,” Wakatoshi replies. “The ones I arrived with were more interested in getting absolutely wasted on an empty stomach.”
“Regrettable. I’m sure someone has already wolfed down everything.”
“Well,” Wakatoshi sighs. “I was not expecting to be well fed. In fact, I planned to leave as soon as midnight strikes.”
“Likewise,” Kita replies. “Lucky for us, we don’t have to wait much longer,” Kita adds, flashing his phone’s screen at Wakaroshi. “It’s almost midnight.”
Wakatoshi nods, then proceeds to promptly get lost in Kita’s eyes again, shining like amber in the muted light of the phone’s screen.
He remembers, in those movies Tendou made him watch during the time they shared a dormitory room at Shiratorizawa that Americans seem to have a tradition to kiss someone when the clock hits midnight on New Years’s Eve. Wakatoshi wonders, eyes traveling down from Kita’s eyes to his lips, if he could probably reason with those movies, in case Kita rejects him. He doesn’t entertain the thought further than a second. Rather than surprising Kita with an attack in the name of some tradition neither of them keeps, Wakatoshi decides to take the straightforward route.
“Kita,” he starts, moving closer as much as the space under the bed allows him. “Can I kiss you?”
Inarizaki’s ex-captain smiles in response. “If that’s what you want,” he says.
“I want to know what you want,” Wakatoshi replies.
Kita reaches out, placing a hand on Wakatoshi’s left cheek. “What do I want? I wonder,” he murmurs, closing the gap between their mouths.
It was Wakatoshi who’d brought the whole thing up, yet he freezes the moment Kita’s lips crash into his hungrily. He might have expected something meeker, more innocent, from Inarizaki’s ex-captain, but he is not complaining – or rather, the only sound he gives out is a low grumble as he moves closer, deepening their contact and returning the kiss with the same passion as Kita has kissed him. Kita moans into Wakatoshi’s mouth as it opens for him and digs his fingers into Wakatoshi’s hair. Wakatoshi slides his hand to Kita’s side, pressing him closer to himself. His shoulder bumps into the underside of the bed with the movement, eliciting a laugh from Kita which breaks their kiss.
“I said it would be a squeeze,” he says.
“You were right,” Wakatoshi agrees.
From the corridor they hear the sound of party poppers going off, followed by the loud holler of someone – arguably Hinata.
“Sounds like it’s midnight,” Wakatoshi says as he leans in again, kissing Kita gently. Kita lets him lead, slow, savoring each movement. Wakatoshi drags his mouth down Kita’s chin, nibbling at his jawline and down to his throat. Kita practically melts into him, his breathing growing ragged and quick, his hands tugging at Wakatoshi’s hair.
Miya Atsumu sprints down the corridor, followed by a screech from Bokuto: “Bathroom to the left, Tsum-Tsum!”
Kita laughs again. He tilts Wakatoshi’s chin back toward him and kisses him lightly before pressing their foreheads together. His breath washes over Wakatoshi’s face warmly. When he speaks, his voice is all but a husky whisper. “Happy New Year, Ushijima-san.”
“Happy New Year,” Wakatoshi replies, promptly banging his head against the bed frame. “What you say we change the venue to something more um… spacious?”
Kita chuckles in reply. “And something less crowded, I hope?” he asks back.
“Of course,” Wakatoshi agrees.
After their first match against each other, Wakatoshi had an unwavering conviction that he would meet Kita Shinsuke again. What he had not expected was that it would be such a happy occasion.