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Atsumu knew his day was going to go badly. He knew as soon as he overslept his third alarm that his day was going to be off. He knew as soon as he got out of bed and stumbled into his kitchen 20 minutes too late that his day was going to be a bad one.
Atsumu arrived at practice an hour later than normal, to the dismay of his confused teammates. Atsumu was a lot of things, but he was never once late. He always showed up at least an hour early to properly stretch and warm up. Not today. Today he stumbled in, albeit a bit confused, as his team was already running their first rotation of the day. He spotted Shoyou, who waved, giving him a worried smile. He meandered onto the court slowly, ignoring the stare Kiyoomi gave him.
Sakusa Kiyoomi was not the type to worry. He didn’t worry about others at least. So when his teammate showed up late, with messy hair and bags under his eyes Kiyoomi found himself staring across the gym. His setter took his position across the net, his posture more slouched than usual. If Kiyoomi or the other members of MSBY thought to look, they would see the red nose and red eyelids. They might even notice the way Atsumu seemed to sway off balance occasionally. But Miya Atsumu wasn’t the type of person to get sick or injured, that’s how it had always been.
Atsumu had felt a headache coming on while on his way to practice; however, being the stubborn person that he was, he chose to ignore it. Still, the seemingly blaring lights of the gym were becoming too bright for him. He had to strain his eyes to focus on who was approaching him for a set.
Atsumu sighed as he was split across the net from Kiyoomi and Kotarou, knowing his coach wanted him to work with all of the front row. Normally, he would be fine with that, maybe even excited; today was not that day. Today, all Atsumu wanted to do was curl up in his bed and fall asleep. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, the cause was his late night training and lack of self care. As his practice went on, he felt his vision begin to blur. At first, it was barely noticeable, even for him. But he found himself getting dizzy, unable to focus on the timing or placement of his sets.
As Atsumu faced his teammates across the net, he felt his knees growing weak. Still, he held himself up, jumping with whatever power he could muster, hoping no one noticed. As their game progressed, he felt more exhausted, his breath becoming more labored. If Atsumu appeared worried, no one would notice.
Kiyoomi noticed as soon as a set connected with the palm of his hand that Atsumu wasn’t totally aware of his surroundings. The ball cut through the block completely, instead heading towards the back row. He realized a second too late that Atsumu didn’t see the spike, nor did he see where it was going. By the time Kiyoomi’s terribly forceful hit connected with his face, Atsumu was already on the ground.
Kiyoomi was already ducking under the net, running towards his teammate before the point had even been called. He knew something was wrong with him. He knew . Atsumu wasn’t moving, eyes unfocused. His nose had begun to bleed. “Tsumu? Tsumu! Hey!” He heard himself yelling, although it seemed more like an echo.
“Omi-kun?” A wobby voice responded. Atsumu’s unfocused eyes shifted their gaze towards him. “Omi-kun.” He repeated, a bit softer this time. Kiyoomi put a palm to his teammates forehead, ignoring the voice in his head telling him not to. His palm felt too warm as he pulled it away.
“Tsumu, do you know where you are?” Kiyoomi asked worriedly, sitting his teammate up more. Atsumu opened his mouth, then paused. Kiyoomi felt his stomach drop.
“Uh, t-the gym? I think?” Atsumu stuttered, eyes blinking.
“Tsumu, what day is it?” He asked, a bit more worried.
“I-It’s a...I don’t remember.” Atsumu confessed quietly, hands covering his eyes. Concussion? Kiyoomi thought, watching Atsumu’s unfocused eyes dart around the gym. Seconds passed by too long, and then a hand tapped Kiyoomi’s shoulder. The MSBY trainer stood behind him, then kneeled next to Atsumu.
“Miya,” he said in a calm voice, “how many fingers am I holding up?” He asked, holding up two. Atsumu squinted, shivering as pain wracked through his body.
“T-three...no wait,” he squinted again, “two.” He nodded, shutting his eyes for a second. Kiyoomi stiffened, still holding him up. Atsumu relaxed into him further, eyes fluttering as they threatened to close.
“Miya, I’m going to ask that you try to stay awake.” The MSBY trainer instructed, carefully taking him from Kiyoomi’s protective hold. “Sakusa'' he addressed the dark haired man kindly, “he will be fine.” The trainer smiled softly, relieving some of Kiyoomi’s stress.
“Can I go with you?” He asked quietly, shooting a glance towards their coach. “I-he lives in the dorm next to mine, so I can take him home.” Kiyoomi added. Their coach nodded, and Kiyoomi stood up with the trainer, grabbing Atsumu’s arm and draping him on his shoulder.
“We called for an ambulance,” the trainer said, stopping as Kiyoomi stiffened, eyes widening. “He’s not seriously injured, Sakusa. We just want to get him checked out, and soon.“ Kiyoomi felt Atsumu’s labored breathing against his neck, his legs barely moving as Kiyoomi nearly dragged him out the door.
“But he’ll be okay?” Kiyoomi asked again, watching the flashing blue and red lights come closer.
“Yes,” there was silence until the sound of sirens filled the air. Kiyoomi watched as the paramedics took Atsumu from him; quietly walking over to his car and following them to the hospital.
………………….
Kiyoomi sat in an uncomfortable, plastic chair. Mask covering his nose and mouth, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, signaling the descent into night. His left hand sat unmoving, fingers cautiously intertwined with Atsumu’s own. His other hand ran fingers through his dark locks as he tried to wake up. If he had to guess, it had been around six hours since he’d arrived, and he’d slept for four hours.
He focused his attention back on Atsumu, who was still unconscious, a relaxed expression on his face. Kiyoomi could see the beginning of a bruise on his forehead from where the ball hit him. He tightened his grip around Atsumu’s fingers, almost fearing he would slip away. Kiyoomi knew Atsumu was fine. He knew that the concussion wasn’t even serious. So why did his chest hurt so bad? Why couldn’t he relax? Kiyoomi rested his head back on the bedding, begrudgingly attempting to fall asleep.
Atsumu awoke with hazy vision and a pounding dull headache. He scanned the room around him, bare white walls stared back at him. He shifted under the weight of a thin linen blanket, his body felt weighed down. He sat up further, noticing a mess of dark wavy hair, connected to broad shoulders and strong arms.
“Omi-kun?” Atsumu wondered aloud, rubbing his temples slowly.
“Tsumu?” A small, quiet voice responded. Atsumu watched as Kiyoomi bolted upright, “Oh my god, Tsumu.” He said again, eyes locked onto Atsumu. “You’re okay.” He smiled, Kiyoomi was smiling at him. Atsumu wouldn’t have believed it except here he was, sunlight painting his skin a light orangy pink hue.
Atsumu didn’t have time to process the sudden movement, only registering Kiyoomi again after the taller man’s arms were around him. “Atsumu, you damn idiot.” Kiyoomi mumbled, still refusing to release him. “Why did you go to practice if you were sick?” He asked, pulling away and collapsing back into his chair.
“I didn’t think it was that bad.” Atsumu replied, watching Kiyoomi pinch the bridge of his nose and curse under his breath.
“ Wasn’t that bad? ” He repeated, “god you idiot .” He sighed, pausing to collect himself. “You were severely dehydrated, malnourished, and for god sakes now you have a damn concussion. Still think it wasn’t that bad ?” Kiyoomi said harshly.
“Omi-kun?” Atsumu asked, feeling the grip on his hand tighten again.
“You stupid idiot” Kiyoomi said, the grip tightened slightly. “It was my fault, I knew you weren’t on your game today. I could tell.” He added, eyes averting Atsumu’s gaze.
“Kiyoomi, were you worried?” Atsumu asked quietly, the hand that had been gripping his retracted as Kiyoomi held his face in his hands.
“What do you mean?” Kiyoomi said in a short, tense laugh. “Yeah I was worried, you fucking collapsed in my arms.” His voice cracked and his shoulders shook slightly. Atsumu knew Kiyoomi never let out strings of curses, he didn’t even like when others did it; listening to him told Atsumu all he needed to know.
“Omi-”
“ Atsumu. ” Kiyoomi’s voice was low but smooth, even with a slight tremor. “Don’t ever fucking scare me like that again or I swear to god I’ll-” his voice cracked again and Atsumu reached out a hand, pulling Kiyoomi’s hands from his face gently. Atsumu was met with watery, dark eyes, glistening with unwanted tears. Kiyoomi’s face was a mix of embarrassment, relief, and anger.
“Kiyoomi-'' Atsumu was interrupted as Kiyoomi’s arms found their way around his waist again, he relaxed as his teammate buried his face into his chest. “Attempting to conceal yer tears?” He joked, tentatively wrapping his arms around his teammate.
“...No” came Kiyoomi’s muffled reply.
“Ya know I’m okay, right?” Atsumu said quietly as Kiyoomi sniffed, pulling away to rub the sting from his eyes.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t worry about you. What if you had been seriously concussed? What if you couldn’t remember anything? What if-” Atsumu stopped him gently.
“I know ya like to worry, Omi-kun. But I’m okay, so you can relax.” Atsumu said, motioning for him to stay as Kiyoomi stood up.
“I’ll come back to take you home.” He said, “your doctor has to clear you first. I’ll be waiting outside, I promise.” He said, pulling his mask up again.
…………..
Atsumu woke up with a slightly duller pounding headache. He blinked, choosing to shut his eyes as yellow pinkish sunlight met hazy, half open eyes. His whole body felt heavy and he willed himself to sit up, only to be met by a sudden wave of nausea.
Atsumu threw the blankets off his legs, head pounding as he tripped down the hall, heaving the empty contents of his stomach into the toilet.
He collapsed back against the wall, chest heaving up and down from the sudden exertion. “Damn” he muttered, rubbing his temples in a feeble attempt to relieve some of the pain.
“Tsumu?” A voice called, quietly knocking on the door. Kiyoomi? Wasn’t he supposed to be at practice? Atsumu thought, head falling into his hands as the steady pain worsened.
Kiyoomi waited, but when no response came from the blonde, he opened the door quietly. Atsumu’s teary eyes and pained expression greeted him as he surveyed the other man who appeared to be almost curled in on himself.
“What’s wrong Atsu?” Kiyoomi asked softly, crouching down next to the blonde. Atsumu said nothing, sloppily attempting to wipe away his tears.
“Threw up.” He stated quietly, “I still feel like shit, Omi.” He added, relaxing into Kiyoomi as the dark haired man sat next to him.
“I know, you need to take your medicine. You can go back to sleep after, okay?” Kiyoomi said, running cool fingers through his teammate’s blonde locks.
“M’kay” Atsumu said, nodding in agreement.
Kiyoomi sank into the bed next to his boyfriend, propping his head up with pillows and pulling the blankets to his shoulders. Just the concussion would’ve been a bit of a hassle on it’s own, but mixed with Atsumu’s cold and lack of self care, he could tell his boyfriend was barely holding himself together.
“Omi?” Atsumu said quietly.
“Yeah baby, I’m here. You feel okay now? Does your head still hurt?” Kiyoomi asked, Atsumu shook his head slightly muttering a ‘no’. Atsumu snuggled closer, allowing Kiyoomi to cuddle around him.
“M’ sleepy.” He mumbled into Kiyoomi’s chest. Kiyoomi felt his heart skip a beat despite the situation. It wasn’t often that he got to see Atsumu act cute.
“I’ll be here when you wake up, okay? So try to sleep.” Kiyoomi said, kissing his forehead.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”