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"Atsumu!!!" Atsumu's door was swung open violently. Osamu jumps through the opening, ready to fall onto his brother’s bed and wake him up, when he realizes there’s no body beneath him. He sits up, only to be draped over an empty, made bed. He observes the room around him. It was his brothers, but...it was different. It was..organized. Cleaner.
He moves from the bed and glances around before walking out in confusion. His brother was usually still sleeping at this time. What motivated him to be so productive this morning?
Osamu walks down the stairs and finds himself in front of an Atsumu wiping down the island in their kitchen. He looks up at Osamu, and, without saying a word to him, continued cleaning.
"..."
"What're you doing?"
Atsumu pulls another wipe out of the container in his arm and turns to the stove.
"Cleaning??"
"Why, though? What's wrong with ya?"
Atsumus face scrunches up. He narrows his eyes and looks back to Osamu, a deadly glare spread on his face.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean??"
Osamu hops down the final stair and rests his hands on the island. Atsumus eyebrows twitch at the sight.
"I mean, you never clean. You never care about the state of yer room, much less the rest of the house."
"Is it so surprising I found that the neglect was worrying? That maybe I decided this house needed someone who would do something about the mess?"
"..."
Osamu stretches his arm out and grabs an apple from the basket in the center of the island. He takes a bite of it and turns towards the living room.
"Whatever. Yer clearly not in the mood for talkin. I'm walking to school with Rin. Don't be late to practice." He grabs his bags from beside the door, slips on his shoes, and steps outside. He never left this early, he usually gave himself around 10 minutes to sit and relax after his routine, but he didn't feel like spending those minutes with a grumpy Atsumu.
He approaches a bridge and leans on the railing for a bit, waiting. He’s scrolling through social media when he hears footsteps nearing him.
"Hi."
Osamu leans up, sliding his phone in his pocket.
"Hey."
Suna reaches Osamus side, and they both begin walking together.
"You were early. Usually I'm first."
Osamu hums. "I left sooner than normal...Tsumu was actin’ like a prick."
"As usual. What happened this time?"
"I don't know. I go to wake him up, and his beds all made and he's already awake. Then I go downstairs and he's cleanin' the counters. When I asked him what was wrong he got all defensive."
Sunas eyes widen slightly.
"That's...odd."
"I know. I don't know what's gotten inta him."
"Who knows. Probably got rejected last night or somethin. So he's mopin about it today."
"Probably."
They reach the school and make their way towards the gym, ready to start a new school day.
Sakusa swings his duffel bag over his shoulder and wraps a masks elastic loops around his ears. He pulls it down, so it’s just resting around his chin, but he has the ability to pull it up if need be.
"See you guys later!!"
He waves to his team and walks through the gym doors, out onto campus and towards the main building. He’s scrolling on his phone when a body runs up next to him.
"...hey?"
Sakusa looks to Komori and lowers his phone slightly.
"Hey, what's up?"
"... 'What's up'?"
Sakusa looks confused. "..yeah? What's up? That's what I said, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, it’s just.."
Komori clings onto his backpack straps.
"I'm, I’m good, but... are you?? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Nothing? I've actually been feeling good today."
Komori is having trouble getting formulated sentences out. Sakusa seems to have zero awareness of his situation and he has no idea what to do about it.
"Okay, well. You're scaring everyone. All of practice you were yelling and jumping and air high-fiving people. You're gonna make us worried."
Sakusas expression seems to drop slightly. "What? Do you guys not like it when I yell?"
"Well- no no no, I mean, it's just— you never do that..? And it's surprising?? What- what's different with you today?"
Sakusa looks to the ground. When they began to enter the school he pulled his mask up. "I didn't think anything was different until now, I was just feeling good today. I've had a good morning."
"I've seen you on good mornings, Sakusa, but that's never stopped you from acting like you'd rather be dead than alive."
As they walk through the halls Sakusa gives friendly waves and winks to anyone he catches looking their way.
"Well... I don't know what to tell you Komori. I'm just in a good mood." Sakusas tone was almost teasing.
They get to the point where they have to part ways. "Okay. I'll see you later, don't miss me too much!" Sakusa turns and skips up the stairs. Komori, and even some onlookers, stand in shock.
As the day went on, both respective family members grew more confused. Sakusa was speaking out, being friendly, and even hanging around other people that weren't Komori. On the other hand, Atsumu was being distant, slightly snappy, and even refused to sit with some of the other kids at lunch. He opted to eat on the roof by himself, where Suna found him after minutes of searching.
Osamu couldn’t take it anymore.
"Okay, talk to me. I thought you were just tired from wakin' up early, but you haven't stopped. What's wrong with you."
Atsumu glances to his brother, and then turns back towards the wall, pulling his shirt down over his chest and moving to step outside the locker room.
"Nothings wrong with me. I just don't feel like putting up with you right now."
"You haven't felt like putting up with anyone all day!" He sprints to the door, gripping the handle in order to block Atsumu. "Dude, just tell me what's wrong. Yer not acting like yerself and you're making everyone around you depressed."
Atsumu seems to take offense to that. He grabs Osamus wrist and yanks it off the door handle. He steps outside the room, wiping his hand along his shorts.
"Do you really think telling me I'm 'making everyone depressed' is going to make me want to open up to you? Besides, there's nothing to open up about. Just want to get this over with and go home."
He starts walking away, a sigh escaping his mouth.
"Come on."
"Tsk," Osamu slides his arms through his sleeves and steps out the door as well, closing it behind him and following Atsumu.
Atsumu was as great of a setter as always, but his demeanor was flattening. Everyone found their moods falling, being around someone suddenly so distant.
When they took a five-minute break, Kita walked up to Atsumu, whom was sipping water in the corner.
"Straighten up."
Atsumu looks up and releases his lips from the bottle with a quiet pop.
"Excuse me?"
"You're not being yourself," Kita elaborates. "I understand you're having an off-day, and it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. But stop ruinin' it for everyone else. Use this break to sort things out and get yer act together."
He promptly turns on his heel and walks away, seemingly to go continue a conversation with Aran.
This frustrates Atsumu. He wasn't having an off day and he wasn't acting weird. Everything he had said and done today had been completely normal, and the fact that everyone he came in contact with hated that was upsetting.
He almost let himself start to dwell on it, start to file through his memories to discern if maybe he was acting differently, but a whistle was blown and they were called back into practice.
Volleyball Fanatics GC
Hinata: hello!!
Sugawara: hello Hinata!
Bokuto: hey hey hey!! Good afternoon!!
Tendou: hi!!!
Oikawa: hello loves! ❤️
Iwaizumi: I hate it when you use that emoji
Oikawa: what?? This one ❤️😋?
Iwaizumi: yes
Oikawa: maybe if you educated yourself on the art of emoticons you'd come to appreciate its history and meaning 🤔
Yaku: history??
Oikawa: The heart shape (❤, ♥️, <3) is an ideograph used to express the idea of the "heart" in its metaphorical or symbolic sense as the center of emotion, including affection and love, especially romantic love. The "wounded heart" indicating lovesickness came to be depicted as a heart symbol pierced with an arrow (Cupid's), or heart symbol "broken" in two or more pieces.
Kyotani: OH my god shut up
Yaku: I regret asking
Suna: I think if you send another message I'll cry
Hinata: "wounded heart" 🥺
Kenma: </3
Hinata: NOOO 🥺🥺
Yamaguchi: so sad </3
Tsukishima: it is three symbols .
Tendou: I've never thought that heart was sad!
Koganegawa: the slashed heart one 🥺🥺?
Tendou: yeah! It looks like a smily face to me
Aone: :)
Tendou: no no no like closed eyes and a cat mouth
Kuroo: like UwU?
Tendou: YES
Ushijima: I don't see closed eyes or a mouth.
Tendou: Wakatoshi we talked about this (/ _ ; )
Tendou: they don't look like real life faces, they're like. Cartoon faces
Hinata: HOW DID YOU DO THAT FACE
Oikawa: ( ◠‿◠ )
Hinata: ?????? I WANT TO DO THAT
Kageyama: (￣^￣)ゞ
Lev: ^_^
Kindaichi: （'-'）.｡oO
Akaashi: （╹◡╹）
Futakuchi: (^-^)v
Aran:٩(^‿^)۶
Hinata: THIS IS HARASSMENT
Ushijima: (￣◇￣;)
Hinata: NOT USHIJIMA TOO
Hinata: SOMEONE TEACH ME HOW TO DO THIS
Oikawa: I would but apparently that would bring suna to tears
Suna: it would
Tsukishima: HAHHAHAHHAHAHHA
Yamaguchi: HAHHAHSJJSNSB
Daichi: this group chat is a nightmare
Aran: agreed
Tanaka: this group chat is a DREAM
Kuroo: @Tsukishima come with me to get ice cream
Tsukishima: you're in Tokyo
Yamaguchi: 🧍🏻
Tsukishima: I also have plans with Yamaguchi
Kuroo: "youRe aN hOuR awaY, ohH I hAvE planS witH mY BoyFriEnD"
Tsukishima: he's not my boyfriend.
Kuroo: @Kenma come with me
Kenma: busy
Kuroo: @yaku come with me
Yaku: don't want to
Lev: I'll come with you!!
Kuroo: hmmmm okay, when?
Lev: I'm free in like a couple of minutes :D
Yaku: I'll come
Kuroo: ???
Koganeawa: AWWW 🥺
Bokuto: YAKU SAW LEV WAS GOING AND WANTED TO COME 🥺🥺😭
Noya: GET IT YAKU GET IT 🤧
Yaku: the only thing anyone on my team will be getting is a restraining order if I leave them both alone
Yamaguchi:
Koganeawa:
Bokuto:
Oikawa:
Akaashi: he's right
Yahaba: KGFHBFD
Lev: 😢😢😭
Asahi: lord have mercy
Noya: no mercy only chaos 👹
Asahi: 😢
Noya: WAIT NO
Osamu: icecream sounds good
Atsumu: everything sounds good to you.
Osamu: GOD FORBID I be hungry every once in a while 😐
Atsumu: you're constantly thinking about food
Bokuto: Atsumu!!
Hinata: Atsumu!!!!!
Bokuto: are you still up for Saturday? :)))
Atsumu: Saturday
Hinata: we're gonna go to the museum remember 🥺🥺🙏🏼?
Suga: I do NOT trust those three to be left to their own devices in a museum
Tsukishima: anywhere else. Just not a museum, please
Atsumu: on a Saturday?
Bokuto: YES??! Atsumu we talked about this, did you change your mind 😢?
Atsumu: I guess
Atsumu: it's a lot of people.
Hinata: that's okay :))))!!! We'll stick together
Atsumu: ok
Akaashi: Atsumu, are you feeling okay?
Atsumu: what?
Osamu: he's been acting like this all day, just leave him alone
Koganeawa: Do you need to talk about it ☹️
Oikawa: did something happen babes?
Atsumu: no? I'm being normal.
Atsumu: I don't understand what everyone's problem is.
Hinata: You're acting sad 😥
Iwaizumi: did Osamu beat you in another fight
Osamu: we didn't get in a fight
Yamaguchi: we're always here if you need us !
Atsumu: stop. I'm seriously fine and I don't understand the issue. I feel normal.
Atsumu: everything has been the same, I haven't been in any fights or anything. I don't know why everyone has acted so put off today.
Atsumu is offline
Oikawa: ...
Hinata: ...
Bokuto: ...
Kuroo: ...
Yamaguchi: :(
Kita: We should leave him alone for now.
Oikawa: this is upsetting-
Suga: are you sure nothing happened, Osamu?
Osamu: yeah, I woke up, went downstairs, and he was cleaning the house all upset. He's been snappy since before I woke up.
Koganeawa: weird...
Suna: I just assumed he got rejected last night or something.
Kinoshita: well I could understand that if he was upset only in the morning,
Narita: he usually doesn't hold on to those kinds of things for so long though..
Osamu: ugh..
Komori: not our team only now getting done with practice 😞😎
Hinata: Komori!!
Yahaba: hey!
Tanaka: welcome!
Akaashi: did you have to stay late?
Komori: yeah, our team was kinda thrown off today. Its ok though!!
Kita: what happened?
Komori: if I knew I'd tell you,
Sakusa: hey!!
Kita:
Osamu:
Noya:
Koganeawa:
Kenma: 😀
Aone: ?
Bokuto: hello Sakusa!1!!1!!!
Sakusa: what's up ;) ?
Kunimi: who took Sakusas phone?
Oikawa: Sakusa??
Sakusa: yeah?
Oikawa: you're talking to me
Sakusa: yeah??? You said my name
Oikawa: you're not being mean
Osamu: ...
Sakusa: why would I be mean? Did something happen?
Sakusa: I know I can be rude sometimes but I didn't know it was expected of me—
Daichi: my brain is being fried
Suna: @Komori
Komori: ?
Suna: backread
Oikawa: no nothing bad happened just. Surprising 😚
Bokuto: how were your wrists today!!!!!?!
Hinata: did they bend?? Did they go all craaaack???
Sakusa: of course they were bendy. My spikes were extra nasty today 😈
Bokuto: I wish my wrists could bend like yours :'(((
Tendou: I sit back and observe 🖐🏻
Ennoshita: I'm just...staring at my screen
Sugawara: glad I'm not the only one who's shocked frozen
Komori: ...
Komori: Osamu
Osamu: Komori
Osamu and Komori Private Chat
Komori: no
Osamu: ...
Komori: please
Osamu: is it a prank?
Komori: I mean. Would they be able to pull it off that well?
Komori: I think it would literally kill Sakusa to act all happy and social
Osamu: I can't imagine Atsumu would be able to pull it off for more than two hours..
Komori: ...
Osamu: ...
Komori: so what do we do
Osamu: um
Osamu: I guess we can just. Try to get as much information from them as we can
Osamu: and then report our findings
Komori: detectives, I like it 🧐
Osamu: sure
Osamu lets his phone slide through his fingers and fall onto the bed. He stands up, walks out of his room and knocks on his brothers door. Normally he'd just barge in, but...you know.
"What?"
Osamu opens the door to an Atsumu on his bed, writing in a notebook. He glances up to Osamu, and then back down to the pages.
"..."
Osamu steps through and closes the opening behind him.
"Are you pranking us?"
Atsumu lifts an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You and Sakusa. You're all bein," he waves his hand around in a motion that holds no meaning.
"Different. Both of ya."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Atsumu sighs, and flips the page in his notebook.
"So this isn't on purpose?"
"No, Osamu. I still hardly know what 'this' is. Leave me alone."
"..."
Osamu walks over and sits down in the chair at Atsumus desk. He rolls around in it, facing his brother.
"Have you done anything with Sakusa lately?"
Atsumu stops writing in his notebook. He stares down in it, looking as if he were walking through his memories, trying to see if there was anything there to answer his brothers question.
After a bit of hesitation, his pencil slowly starts moving again.
"...I don't know."
"Is that a yes?"
"..."
"Tell me about it."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because it's important."
"...if I told you this was a prank would you leave me alone?"
"Is it?"
"..no."
"Then tell me what happened. I won't say anything to anyone."
"..."
Atsumu sighs and closes the book. He lays it down on the bedside table and sits up.
Komori knocks on Sakusas front door. He was a detective, now. He had to act like one.
Instead of opening it like he normally did, he waits patiently.
After maybe half a minute the door swings open from the other side.
"Hey!"
Sakusa gives a warm smile to Komori and steps to the side.
"Sorry for the intrusion,"
Komori slides his shoes off and walks into the rest of the house, waiting by the staircase. Sakusa catches up to him after shutting the door and begings to make his way up the stairs.
"What brings you over?"
Komoris hand brushes the railing as they ascend.
"Um. I wanted to, uh. Talk to you. Bout something."
Sakusa hums. They make it to his room, and he motions for Komori to sit on the bed alongside him. Komori’s taken aback.
"You want me to sit on your bed?"
Sakusa looks at the sheets, and then back to Komori.
"Yeah? Do you not want to??"
"Well- um, no it's just. I mean yeah. I do. but you don't- you don't think I'm gonna ruin it or something?"
Sakusa stares.
"Well you took a shower after practice, right?"
"Of course I did."
"Then I trust that it'll be fine."
".... okay. This is crazy."
"Huh?"
Komori walks over and sits on the bed. He eyes Sakusas expression for any twitch in his eyes, a slight frown, but his expression stays as neutral as before.
"Are you pranking us?"
"Pranking?"
"Me and Osamu. Are you messing with us?"
"Why would I want to prank Osamu? I mean I can see pranking you— that would be funny—- but what does anything have to do with Osamu?"
Either Sakusa was way better of a liar than he thought, or he was genuinely, wholeheartedly confused. Both scare Komori, but more so the last option.
"You and Atsumu are acting differently. You're- you're acting like..each other. Why?"
Sakusa looks around his room, pondering. His glance lasts longer when it reaches the phone on his nightstand, but he looks away.
Komori takes this moment to observe his cousin’s room as well. It was normal, for the most part, but there were slight differences. The throw blanket that was usually neatly draped over the end of Sakusas bed was now in a ball, pushed up against the wall. Instead of the pillows being on top of the sheets, the sheets were on top of the pillows. One of the drawers of his dresser had a garment of some kind poking out the top.
So, the same, but lower-effort.
"We're not acting like eachother?"
"Yes, you are!! Today, you were all happy and social and Atsumu is all- I don't know! Like you!"
Sakusa leans back, holding his arms up in defense.
"Woah, don't freak out. I'm flattered you care so much about me but let's tone it down."
Komoris eyes bleed holes into Sakusa.
Inhale, exhale. "So this isn't a prank."
"Nah, I would have told you by now. You're so worked up, I'd be too scared to not say anything."
"..."
Komori gently rests his hands in his lap. "Okay. Then.."
"Have you hung out with Atsumu at all? Like lately.." is what he decides on asking.
Sakusas eyes go wide. His glance catches his phone again before looking back to Komori.
"How'd you know?"
"..tell.. tell me what happened."
Sakusas expression switches from shock to smug. He leans back again, resting his hands on the comforter beneath him.
"You really wanna know? I'm not sure you could handle it."
"I can handle it.."
Sakusa grabs his phone from the nightstand and holds it up to his face, beginning to unlocking it.
"Okay. I'll tell you."
Sakusa Kiyoomi had an after-school routine. It played out the same every day, save for the few times Komori would visit, and he liked it that way. After the unpredictable events of the school day, he could come home to complete familiarity. Comfort.
It went like this:
Sakusa would come home, change into a hoodie and sweatpants, and have a snack. The snack was usually hummus and carrots, or something of the sort.
He would do the dishes, wipe down the countertops, sweep the kitchen floor, and make his way to his room.
There, he would do whatever schoolwork he had. After he was done with that he would sit on his bed and write down or go over anything volleyball-related. If he had made a revelation, or picked up on something during practice, he would jot it down. If it was a slower day, he would simply skim through it and put it away.
Once done with journaling, he would head downstairs, where he either had to make dinner or it was already awaiting him. He would eat, and then take a shower. Sakusas showers lasted around 30-40 minutes when he wasn’t being pressured. He knows showering every day is a one-way ticket to dry skin, but he'd rather have to deal with that than feel disgusting for a whole day. Afterwards he would change into pajamas, perform his skincare routine (which consisted of about 8 products well above drug store prices), turn off the lights in his room, lay down in bed, and go to sleep. He would wake up the next day feeling refreshed and do it all over again. If he had any unforeseen free time he would usually fill it with watching volleyball matches, or tossing to himself while laying down.
That was his routine, and it worked every day and it was good.
So, imagine his irritation when at 12:13 in the morning his phone starts screaming at him to wake up.
Sakusa, after a lot of hoping and praying it would stop, slowly lifts himself up. His hand reaches out until it grips the phone on the nightstand, unplugs it, and brings it to his face.
The light is immediately way too bright and he shuts his eyes before slowly opening them again, lowering his brightness and adjusting.
The screen on his phone displays an incoming call. It's from someone he can't say he's surprised to see but is still irritated with nonetheless.
After a moment of contemplating if he should just put his phone on silent and go back to sleep, he swipes the green button to the right and brings the phone up to his ear.
"..omi."
The voice on the other end is breathy, exasperated, and Sakusa wonders why in the world Atsumu sounds like he'd just escaped a murder at 12 in the morning. There's no background noise, so he can't just automatically assume the situation like usual.
"What do you want?" Sakusas voice is raspier than intended. He clears his throat, but also thinks maybe that's a good thing. Now Atsumu knows how much of a bother he's being.
"Um. I..." Atsumu heaves out a sigh over the line. Sakusa groans.
"Spit it out, please. I'm a bit tired right now."
"Sorry. Um, uh..can you.."
Waiting.
"I want to..I need ta see you."
Sakusa gives the phone screen an annoyed and questioning look. Atsumu can't see him of course, but he hopes he still picks up on it.
"What are you talking about?"
"I need to see you, omi. I'm- in person."
Sakusa could hardly muster up the energy to get any more irritated with Atsumu.
"Miya. I don't know if you're still half asleep, but I’m six hours away. We can't see eachother right now. Go to bed." He begins to lean over and plug his phone back in when Atsumu starts frantically pleading on the other end.
"Wait no no no! That's not what I meant! Well it is-but I mean, I'm here! I'm here. In Tokyo. Close to you. I want to see you."
Sakusa stops.
"What?"
"Ahh," Sakusa can hear a shaky breath being let out by Atsumu.
"You know that park..near your house...I'm there."
"...Are you drunk or something?"
"Huh? N-"
"Actually; I don't care. Even if you are in Tokyo, I'm still tired. We can talk about this in the mornin"
Once again Sakusa picks up his charger from the floor and moves it towards his phone.
"OMI!!! Please, I don't have anywhere to stay, I just came here to see you! Please please- I'm sorry for waking you up I know 12 is late for you but I... it's not like I can just wait, ok, I gotta see you now. Please-"
Sakusas torn between what to do. On one hand, he has a boy in Tokyo begging to meet him, who has no means of waiting, and on the other, he has a nice bed he would definitely have to remake before he went back to sleep.
Which one do I satisfy?
...when he put it like that, satisfying the boy seemed a lot more morally sound than the bed.
"...fine." Sakusa tries his best to make it sound like he was forced to say the word.
"Yes. I'm at the park, like I said. I'll wait on the bench near the lake, ok?"
Sakusa hates this. "Ok."
The call ends, and Sakusa stares at the phone for a minute before moving. He gets up, makes the bed (oh, so he would have had to do this anyways then), slides a jacket and shoes on, makes an attempt at forming his hair into something other than a rats nest, wipes his face down, grabs his phone, and quietly sneaks out the door.
The air immediately hits him with what feels like the force of a train. It's windy and frigid and Sakusa wishes he didn't have to be out right now. He sees small dots of white fall in front of him—snow. It's not coming down particularly hard, but seeing the flakes sprinkle around him in the dead of night feels almost calming.
He checks the weather app. Apparently, it was supposed to come down a lot harder in a couple of hours. Sakusa simply has to trust Atsumu won't keep him that long.
He regrets not bringing a heavier jacket. But he's already made it safely out of the house, and he doesn't want to go through that torturous process of tiptoeing and taking forever to close doors again. So instead he grabs the mask from inside his pocket and slides it on. At least his face will be warmer.
It's only about a 10-minute walk to the park, but it's probably more around 20 minutes when you add in how long it takes to get to the lake.
Eventually, though, he can see the still pool of water nearing him. He slows his pace, and scans the area for the bench, and, hopefully, a person.
Oh god, if Atsumu led Sakusa all the way to the park and he wasn't actually th-
Oh, no, there he is.
A slowly-focusing blur of yellow sits on a bench, facing away from Sakusa. He can't see much of the figure, but he can already tell it’s restless.
He walks towards it for a bit longer before speaking.
"Miya."
The figure jumps in its seat and turns around slowly. Atsumus cheeks and nose are flushed a reddish-pink. Like cherry blossoms, Sakusa thinks, except no, not like cherry blossoms at all, because it's not cherry blossom season and instead winter and absolutely freezing.
"Was starting to think you weren't comin,"
"Maybe you wouldn't have started thinking that if you didn't choose to sit at the absolute corner of the park."
"Oops."
Atsumu laughs and stands up, leaning against the back of the bench. He's dawning black jeans and an extremely oversized purple hoodie. His hands are shoved inside the front pocket; blocked by lavender. He looks just as tired and exhausted as Sakusa feels.
"How did you get here?"
"Huh?? No 'I missed you so much Atsumu, give me a big hug'?"
"How did you get here?" Sakusa repeats.
"Ugh. I got someone to drive me here,"
"For six hours??? Where are they?"
"Man, I don't know Omi!" Atsumu dramatically throws his arms out to his sides. "Friend of a friend, you know? They're probably out at some gas station waiting for me to call them to pick me up."
"..and once they pick you up?"
"Then we're goin back home."
"..."
Sakusa sighs into his mask. Tiny clouds appear in front of his eyes for a moment before dissipating.
"You drove 6 hours up here...just to see me for a couple of minutes? How? Why?"
"Well, my parents are out of the house for tonight. And, did ya know Samu' goes to sleep real early? And since it's a Friday, practice ended early? All I had ta do was call up my friend once Samu' went to bed and here I am."
He smiles weakly and taps his head with one finger. "I planned this all out, ya know."
"Osamu goes to bed at 6..."
"Sometimes earlier."
"You didn't answer the last part of my question."
Atsumu stares at Sakusa before slowly turning around, and sitting back down on the bench. He cranes his neck and gestures to the opposite side of the seat. Sakusa reluctantly walks over and sits down.
"..so..you know how we exchanged numbers-"
"We didn't exchange numbers. You got Suna who got Komori to add me to your volleyball group chat and started spamming me until I responded."
"Same thing, same thing, anyways.."
Atsumu huffs and leans back into the bench, threading his fingers in the hoodie pocket. "aaagh, I've never had to do this before..this is harddd..."
Sakusa only raises an eyebrow and remains silent.
"So, okay. I...I got your number because I,
I..thought you were really cool. But like...in a different way. When we met at camp..you didn't really talk to me at first, but I talked to you and then you would get provoked and we would start insultin eachother and yer cousin would have to come over and make you stop and then we would get called back into practice and I would see you, on the same side of the court as me, and we had just got done arguin but the tension was already gone because I would toss the ball up into the air and you would analyze it to make sure the set was to your liking, and normally that would piss me off but you would jump anyways and flick your wrist and the ball would hit the other side of the net and everyone would congratulate us and-"
Sakusa shifted uncomfortably.
"Miya. What are you getting at."
"Agh. What I'm trying to say is that you're supposed to piss me off but every time I think of your weird face all I can picture is you floating in the air, your hair out of your eyes for once, looking so comfortable and at home hitting my sets and I can't help but realize I'm probably in love with you."
Atsumu didn't realize how loud he had gotten towards the end, or how tense he became. He relaxes his shoulders and flops back down into the seat. The lake becomes quiet once again, only the sounds of leaves rustling and the quiet hum of the wind left to fill the silence. Atsumu absolutely can not look Sakusa in the face right now and opts to analyze the suddenly very interesting stone pathway instead.
"..oh." Is what breaks the silence.
Atsumu still refuses to look the spikers way.
"You..don't have to say anything. I just wanted to get it off my chest and didn't want to say it over the phone, or wait until the next time we had a game together or something."
Atsumu wants to get up and leave, keep it at that and avoid Sakusa for the rest of his life, but he didn't drive all the way up to Tokyo for no closure. (He's also just not ready to leave Sakusas side yet).
Sakusa doesn't know what to say. He's never gotten a confession before, he's never been told how he looks to other people, he's never been..cared about, in this sense. It's slightly overwhelming on its own, but coming from Atsumu it's like a ton of bricks. He feels out of place but also...
"I don't know what to say."
Atsumu heaves a breathy laugh and digs his elbows into his thighs, pressing his forehead against the back of his hands.
"It's..it's okay. I don't expect anything from you, just-"
"No, I mean, I've just never thought I would have to talk to you about this.."
Atsumu turns his head and peeks skeptically over at Sakusa. Most of his face is still obscured by the black mask, but the tips of his ears are pink, and Atsumu wonders if it's from the cold or because he's blushing.
"What?"
"I never planned on discussing feelings with you...I was hoping I could just wait until I forgot about it,"
Atsumus head lifts slightly.
"You were gonna..wait until...wait, me? Feelings? Omi do you-"
Sakusa lowers his gaze and looked away.
"Do you like me?? Omi??? Do you like me back????"
Sakusa groans and his shoulders reach his jawline.
"I don't know."
Sakusa can’t see Atsumus face, but he can hear the small held-in breath that escapes his lips.
"I thought you would just ignore me."
Sakusa would love to just be able to ignore Atsumus confession. He would love that immensely.
"...what do you like about me?" Atsumu whispered.
Sakusa whips around to look at Atsumu. Atsumu jumps and then settles back in.
"Huh?"
"I mean..I told you what I think about whenever I see you. What do you...think about..?"
"I think about your piss hair and the lack of toner in it."
Sakusa turns back around and Atsumu releases a desperate laugh.
"Cmon..don't ruin the moment....tell me."
Sakusa let silence fill the area between them for a bit before speaking up again. If he just chose his words carefully everything would be okay, he'd still be normal.
"I think about...how..you're not always honest with yourself or others. How you lie all the time, and pretend like you're someone else, but...once you step on the court it just disappears. I only ever got to play with you a handful of times, but even watching your matches I can tell, when you're not running your mouth, you're being your true self when setting. I like that I notice that."
He turns to Atsumu.
"....Omi-"
"I also think about how even though you act like a prick most of the time, you're also caring in your own way. You always have my particularities in mind. Even now, you've had multiple chances to rest your hand on my shoulder or grab my arm but you've kept your hands in your pockets because you don't want to make me uncomfortable. If you were as much of a dick as you let on, you wouldn't care. You act like you only live to spite people when in reality you do everything in your power to make them stay and feel good.
When I think about Miya Atsumu I don't think about him setting a ball perfectly into a spikers hand, his eyes wide and expression full of anticipation. I think about a guy, talking to anyone who will talk back to him, doing his best to make them smile. Even people like me."
Atsumu found it hard to tear his eyes away from Sakusas. He felt like the lake and grass and stone pathway had completely faded from existence around them, leaving nothing but him, Sakusa, and the bench they shared. When he mustered up enough strength to, he buried his face in his hands and turned away.
"Damn it, Omi!"
"What?"
Atsumu covers the top half of his face with his forearm.
"You didn't even prepare that and it was way better than mine.."
"Sorry."
Atsumu slowly lowers his arm and turns to face Sakusa. He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn't Sakusa without a mask on. His cheeks matched his ears and his mouth was pulled into a shaky line.
"You..really think about all that stuff? ..now I feel dumb...I haven't noticed anything like that with you..."
"I never said one of the things you change is how smart you are. You're pretty stupid no matter what."
"Ah-augh! You're the prick, not me!" Atsumu crossed his arms and looked to the ground in fake offense before pulling his gaze back up to Sakusa.
He wasn't sure where to go from here. He never even expected to get this far, he was fully prepared for Sakusa to not even show up. So you could say he's at least a bit dumbfounded.
"So...you like me, then...?"
Sakusas mouth quirks down slightly.
"..I don't know."
"Omi, I literally said I was in love with you. The least you could do is-"
"Miya, I...I said I don't know. It's weird."
"You just gave me a whole speech on how cool and nice I am."
"Doesn't mean I..like you, or something... just respectable."
"Just respectable?"
Sakusa doesn’t respond to that. His expression twists up into something like guilt, staring at the waters in front of him.
"Omi..just say it. You practically already confessed, just..say you like me."
Sakusa only shakes his head.
"Come on..just..it's three words. That's way less than your speech. It's not that hard-"
"Not that hard for you. If I say it it'll..it'll be real."
"So what? You're just gonna dance around the fact that you like me for the rest of your life? You-"
"I only told you what I thought because you asked. I never promised you a confession or..anything."
Atsumus hand grips the wood beneath him. Sakusa likes him, and Sakusa knows it, but he doesn't want to deal with it. He just wants to forget about it in the hopes the feelings will fade.
Atsumu slowly lifts his arm until it hovers over Sakusas shoulder. Sakusa glances at it for a second and looks back upfront. Atsumu carefully places his hand down.
He then inches closer, turning his body to face Sakusas. Sakusa twists the tiniest bit. Atsumu moves his other hand to right above Sakusas right cheek. Sakusa tenses, his shoulders rise, and after a couple of moments, he seems to force himself to relax. Atsumu delicately lets his hand rest on Sakusa. His touch is soft and hardly grazes the skin, but it's still there, holding his face.
They make eye contact, and, being closer now, Atsumus able to clearly see Sakusas dark eyes. He can almost never tell what's going on behind them, and right now isn't an exception. Atsumus only left to assume.
He decides not to waste any more time and leans in. It's not quick, but not painfully slow either. He simply leans in, and Sakusa stays in place, and both of their eyes close, and their lips touch.
It's soft and sweet. Almost as if both boys were trying to not hurt the other. Atsumu had never experienced a kiss like this before; one filled with hidden yearning and care. He'd only ever kissed girls from school he couldn't remember the names of. All of those were usually driven from frustration or annoyance.
He tilts his head and lets his tongue graze the other boy’s bottom lip. Sakusa immediately pulls back.
"..."
"..."
Sakusa stands up, hands balled into fists, and turns away.
"...I'll talk to you later, Miya."
Atsumu jumps up and reaches for Sakusas arm, but he pulls away.
"Omi, wait-"
Sakusa doesn't yell, or argue, or tell Atsumu to shut up. He simply ignores him and walks off. Atsumu stands there, hand still outstretched, as he watches Sakusa disappear into the snow.
"..."
Atsumu reaches inside his pocket and dials a number. It rings for a moment, and he brings it up to his ear weakly.
"..we can go home now."
"...Wow. So you just walked off?"
Sakusa rubs two fingers against his forehead. "Yeah. I guess I did. Was probably in a bad mood or something..."
Komori leans forwards, closer to his cousin.
"You weren't in a bad mood, you were being normal. You know..I bet it wasn't a coincidence you only started acting weird after that."
"What do you mean?"
"Something happened and now you and Atsumu are acting weird. It's got something to do with that night, I just know it."
Komori stands up and sits down at Sakusas desk. He opens the laptop, types in Sakusas password, and goes to google.
"Umm...what do I search.."
After a moment of thinking Komori types in 'Confession now acting weird'.
The top few results were either dating advice from random blogs or forums asking for the same thing. Neither were what Komori wanted, so he tried again.
'Two people confessed and now they are acting different'.
Again, everything was just forums asking for help or YouTube videos on how to confess to someone without being awkward.
"I've really gotta work on my searching skills."
He's about to try a different search when his phone buzzes from the bed. He gets up and grabs it, checking the notification.
Komori and Osamu Private Chat
Osamu: Rejection *link attached*
Komori stares at his screen for a moment before his eyes widen. Oh my god, that makes so much sense.
He clicks on the link, and it's an informational post on the swap of mindsets after experiencing heavy emotions with another person. It's posted by some spiritual-witch-stuff blog, which Komori wouldn’t usually deem as credible, but it perfectly explains Sakusa and Atsumus situation.
He scrolls down a bit before lowering his phone.
"You may have the personality of Atsumu but you're still a prick for what you did to him the other night. I'm gonna make you fix it."
"What? Wait, can I finish this episode I was watching before you came over? I didn't think you were gonna be making me do things."
"Huh?? No! I can't have you like this any longer! Let's go." Komori looks down at his phone and typed something in before closing the laptop at the desk and walking out of the room.
"What's that supposed to mean? That's just rude.." Sakusa whines, before getting up and following Komori.
The boys inform both of their parents that they'll be back later in the morning, and both agree, because they know their kids are responsible, of course, but also Sakusa is going out to have a fun time with his cousin and friends? You have to take advantage of that opportunity.
Komori calls up someone and before they know it they're in a car, on their way to Nagano.
Osamu looks up from the laptop on the desk and over to his brother.
"I don't know if I'm supposed to be mad at you or not."
Atsumu gestures to the screen.
"Just because I 'swapped mindsets' doesn't mean I'm not the one who didn't get stood up."
He leans back into his bed.
"This is stupid anyways. Get out of my room."
"Yeah, but it means that now you would stand someone up. Prick."
Atsumu shakes his head and turns his body away from Osamu and to the wall. Both boys choose not to discuss the fact that Atsumu had stood up plenty of people before, normally, anyways.
"You're an idiot. Go away."
"Uh, yeah. No. We have to go get you fixed, I'm not living with a Sakusa until college."
Atsumu is muffled as he leans his head down into the covers. "There's nothing wrong with a Sakusa."
"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who thinks that." Osamu stands up, stretches his limbs, and grabs onto the door handle.
"When yer done sulking come to the living room. I'm gonna tell mom and dad we need to leave for a while."
Before Atsumu has the chance to object Osamu walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.
Atsumu turns to his back and stares at the ceiling.
Before he did a re-telling of the other night’s events, he didn't remember anything. Not in the sense that all of his memories were taken, but in that nothing ever came up to make him remember.
He can see now, that he was in fact acting drastically different, and wasn’t just having an off day. It was odd, being aware of your changes but quite literally having no control over it. It starts to freak him out, so he quickly gets up from the bed and walks into the living room.
Osamu turns to him as he walks in. "They said it's ok as long as you don't sleep in tomorrow and we don't fight. Let's go." He moves to put his jacket, scarf, and gloves on, and Atsumu does the same. Osamu messages someone on his phone, and about 15 minutes later a car pulls up outside their house. They slip on their shoes and walk outside.
Suna sits in the passenger seat, head and arm outside the window.
"Hey. Get in."
"You're coming..." Atsumu mumbles as he pulls on his mask. The siblings slide into the backseat. Suna turns to look at them.
"Yeah. You owe me for this."
"You're not even the one driving," Osamu glances to the driver. He looks to be about 18 and is messing with the GPS app on his phone as the teenagers converse.
"Yeah, but I owe him for driving us for 8 hours. So you're gonna pay me back. Double, probably." He turns back to stare upfront.
"Double?! In what??!"
"We'll see."
"Not money, right? I don't have enough money for that."
"Hmm." Suna pulls out his phone, and the gear next to him shifts by the other boy in front. They begin moving forward, and a female robotic voice sounds throughout the car: "Starting Route to Agematsu, Nagano."
"So why are we going to Nagano again?" Sakusa asks, tangled up in his seatbelt and legs resting on Komoris lap.
Komori makes an attempt to shove Sakusas legs off but to no avail.
"Cause we need to cure you of this..mindset thing. If everything goes to plan, tomorrow you'll be back to normal."
Komoris sister sits in the front seat, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a toothpick. She glances in the rearview mirror, at Sakusa, and then back to the road.
"So weird having an upbeat Sakusa in the car with me."
"But good, isn't it? Maybe we should go back, being able to do whatever I want is fun."
"You shouldn't have to switch personalities with someone just to do what you want..." Komori mumbles as he pulls out his phone. "And, no. You need to confront your feelings and also save everyone around you the nightmares."
"Confronting my feelings is the last thing I want to do right now..." Sakusa drops his head back dramatically and groans.
"If we didn't make you you never would. Mindset swap or not."
Komori looks over to the window and lowers his phone a bit.
"It's gonna come down harder later."
Sakusa gets up on his forearms and cranes his head to look out the car window. Snow prickles at the glass and falls onto the road around them. It's hardly anything more than a powder right now.
"Really?"
Komori glances down at his screen and then back to the road.
"Yeah. In Agematsu there's already a bit over a centimeter. By the time we get there it might be close to three."
"That's going to be freezing.."
"Anything for romance," Komori rests his head on the glass and closes his eyes.
'Anything for romance' is probably what Atsumu thought when he decided it would be a great idea to confess to Sakusa in the snow. If Sakusa were thinking straight he would want to repair his relationship with Atsumu in a store, or lobby of a building. But now his judgment was clouded by thoughts of how to be the best and excitement, and found himself thinking the same phrase.
Osamu, Suna, and Atsumu arrive in Agematsu an hour later than Komori and Sakusa. They're told to meet them at a park, so they drive over and hop out at the entrance. There's about three centimeters of snow on the ground, and they tread through it until a voice calls to them from the right. The three look over and Komori waves to them from a small gazebo. It looks only big enough to hold the table inside. The three walk over and quickly duck underneath it.
Atsumu glares across the table to Sakusa, who's draped his arms along it.
"Why are we outside?"
"Just like before, right?" Sakusa replies. "Extra magical."
Atsumu grimaces from underneath his mask and is about to throw an insult when Osamu speaks to Komori.
"I hope you weren't waiting here for too long."
Komori waves his hand dismissively. "Nah, we've only been here for about five minutes. When we got to Agematsu we just kinda hung out in the car for a bit."
"You could have left an hour later so you didn't have to wait," Suna says.
"Yeah...I didn't think about that in the rush to cure Sakusa. Too late now, I guess.."
Atsumu sighs. "What do I need to do so we can leave?"
"Oh, right." Osamu turns to his brother and points to Sakusa. "We're gonna leave you two alone, and you're gonna figure shit out, k? Once you make up or start freezing to death we'll pick you up. Tomorrow you'll be annoying again and everyone'll be happy."
"And why do we have to do it in the freezing cold?"
"The ritual works best if it's in a similar environment to the one where everything started," Komori supplies. "And we could have done it at the original park, but this one is more convenient in terms of distance."
"Ritual?"
"Love ritual.." Komori swoons.
Suna pulls out his phone. "And maybe the hypothermia will make you two speed it up. Don't wanna be here for too long."
"Why did you come if you don't want to be here?"
"I only tagged along for the drama and payment, okay."
"Whatever. Sunas right, anyways. Not to rush you but you two should try to be as fast as possible." Osamu claps his hands together. "Good? I don't care. Have fun."
He turns away with Komori and Suna trailing closely behind. Soon enough they're out of sight and only Atsumu and Sakusa exist underneath the fragile wood of the hut.
"..."
"Flattered you came out so far to see me," Sakusa says.
"You drove almost just as long." Atsumu moves to sit across from Sakusa at the table, shoving his hands inside his pockets.
"...you cold?"
"You think?"
"Whatever, not my fault. You're the one who started the whole snow trend anyways."
"Thanks for rubbing it in."
"..."
Sakusa reaches inside his coat and pulls out two white packets.
"Hand warmers?"
Atsumu stares at the hand warmers in Sakusas palm for a second, contemplating, before carefully taking them and shoving them inside his gloves. He can start to feel his fingers ease up immediately.
It's silent for a minute before Atsumu speaks up, making Sakusa jump in his seat. "So..why can't you say you like me?"
"So eager, Tsumu'.."
"Just to get out of here."
Sakusa laughs awkwardly and pulls his hood up over his head.
"haha...um.."
He sighs.
"It's just...if I say it, then it will be real. And I'll have to..deal with everything." Sakusa twirls his hand around as he speaks.
"Deal with everything?"
"...yeah."
Atsumu stares at Sakusa for a moment, trying to decide the best course of action. He then comes across a realization.
"..you don't think it's a bad thing to like the same gender..do you...?"
Sakusas eyes widen and he looks up at Atsumu, almost worriedly.
"What? No nono...if you like the same gender that's totally fine....no-"
"But yourself? You're allowed to do the same, you understand?"
"..."
Sakusa looks down at the table. He tries to focus on the chipped edges and faint lines that run across the planks as he speaks.
"I...There's just so much that comes with being..that. You have to tell everyone you meet about it, you have to explain it..prove to everyone you-"
"You don't need to prove it to anyone," Atsumu interrupts. "And you don't need to tell anyone about it at first if you're uncomfortable with it. But if I'm being truthful most everyone knows and doesn't care anyway."
"Oh."
Atsumu buries his face into the scarf wrapped around his neck. "I'll help you."
"What?"
"I can help you, if you'll let me. I can show you it's okay."
"..." Sakusa gives a weak nod at the table. The hood falls further down his head, casting a shadow over the top part of his face.
"Yes?"
He doesn't respond, instead choosing to stare at the table with his shoulders hunched. After a second his palm comes up to his face, wipes across his eyes, and is shoved back into his pockets.
Atsumu mentally gasps. "Are you crying?"
Sakusa hides his face in his shoulder.
Over the years Atsumu has learned how to at least semi-comfort someone. He and Osamu have coaxed eachother through tough experiences time and time over.
Yet now, due to their circumstances, he can't think of anything to say or do other than watch as his crush wipes at his eyes, quiet sobs racking throughout his body. Atsumu wants to reach out and hug him until it hurts to squeeze so tight but he simply can't bring himself to in the moment.
The only thing he can get himself to say is "I'll be here for you".
This seems to break Sakusa. He brings both hands up to cover his face as he leans down over the table and cries. Hard.
It's a scary thing to watch, but it also looks so genuine and full of hurt that Atsumu can't help but wonder if Sakusa would have reacted this way normally. How long has he been hiding from himself, and how long has he been waiting for the moment someone told him that they're there for him?
He heard it all the time from Osamu, but Atsumu thinks this might be the first time Sakusa has heard the words.
Atsumu takes a deep breath and stands up. He walks over to Sakusa and hovers an arm around his body.
This time, though, it's for both their comfort. Atsumu can't say he's exactly thrilled to hug someone.
When Sakusa glances over at him from between two fingers and doesn't object, he leans in and carefully embraces Sakusa.
He's uncomfortable with the contact at first but can't take the time to dwell on it because Sakusa has fully turned around and wrapped his arms around Atsumu. He buries his face in the crook of Atsumus neck and continues to cry.
They stay like that for what feels like an hour (but is more likely around three minutes). Although their body heat along with layers of clothing is a fair source of warmth, Atsumu would be lying if he said he couldn't feel the intense cold of the snow and air around them.
Once Sakusas sobs dissipate more into sniffles he speaks.
"I'm cold."
Sakusa pushes away from Atsumu and wipes at his eyes.
"..yeah."
Atsumu sits back finally, on the same wooden bench as Sakusa. "We'll get through it all together, ok? You just have to stay with me."
Sakusa nods. "Yeah."
"Will you trust me? Even tomorrow, when we're back to normal?"
"yeah."
"Ok."
Atsumu pulls out his phone, types a couple of messages, and puts it back down again. His phone immediately vibrates and he checks it, then puts it away.
"They'll be here in a couple of minutes."
"Okay.."
Sure enough, in a couple of minutes, Osamu, Suna, and Komori are running towards them in the flurry of snow and ducking underneath the roof.
"Wh- you could have told us you were here." Atsumu deadpans.
"Aw, we wanted a couple more minutes together before we had to go back." Komori moves to stand next to Sakusa, carefully patting his back.
Suna shivers and shoves his hands in his pockets. "How are you guys not freezing yet?"
"Who said we aren't?" Atsumu tries to remind himself of the hand warmers in his gloves, hoping it will heat him up a bit more. "Can we go now?"
"In such a rush," Sakusa teases from the far end of the table.
"As long as everything between you two is sorted out. Are we good?"
"Probably." Atsumu walks past Osamu and out of the gazebo, into the snow. "I'm going to the car."
"Huh?? No, wait! What if we parked it in a different place?!!"
"You didn't."
"..well he's not wrong." Osamu sighs. He turns to the rest of the group and begins to back step out into the snow as well. "Okay, well I guess we'll see the results tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes as planned."
"Hopefully," Komori agrees. "Have a safe trip back!"
"You too!" Osamu and Suna turn fully around, rushing out to Atsumu who's already way ahead of them.
When the three figures are lost in the sea of white Komori looks down to Sakusa.
"You good?"
"Yeah." Sakusa shifts, fiddling with his scarf.
"Okay. I won't push anything." Komori outstretches his hand and Sakusa gently takes it. He's heaved up and to his feet. "Wanna go back now? Don't want you getting hypothermia."
"I might already have it. Starting to feel a bit warm."
"Oh god," Komori grabs onto Sakusas arm and starts dragging him out. "Let's go."
"Heheh."
While driving back, Osamu repeatedly makes sharp glances to Atsumu.
After around 10 minutes of this Atsumu speaks up.
"What?"
"Nothin, nothin."
He rests his elbow on the car door and stares out the window.
"Everything worked out between you two?"
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
"I don't know. He had a lot of internalized homophobia or something."
Osamu looks over to Atsumu with his eyes wide. Suna turns around in his seat to look as well.
"Oh?"
"Had?"
Atsumu sighs. "Yeah. He'll be fine."
"never thought of Sakusa as the type ta deal with that," Osamu thinks aloud.
"Makes a lot of sense when ya think about it though," Suna says.
"Yeah."
Osamu glances to Suna and back to Atsumu. "So you're not dating?"
"Ugh, I don't know. Maybe. It's not a good decision to make right now, is it?"
"Ah. Guess not."
Atsumu glances at the time on his phone. 12:26.
"I'm going to sleep. Don't talk to me." He pulls his hood up, rests his head on the window, and closes his eyes.
"I'd say that's a rude way to tell yer friends you’re gonna take a nap but I guess I can give you shit for that in the morning." Osamu leans his head up against the chair and shuts his eyes as well. "Night, Rin."
"Night."
At exactly 5:42 am Sakusa receives a call.
He begrudgingly sits up, feeling for his phone on the nightstand and its charger. He unplugs it and brings it to his face. The light is immediately too bright— he rubs at his eyes and tries again, slower.
He slides right on the screen.
"Sakusa??" Komori asks through the phone.
"What do you want?"
A cheer erupts from the other side. Sakusa pulls away from the speaker in annoyance.
"You’re back!"
"Hah?"
"Your personality! You're normal!!"
Sakusa sleepily tries to remember what in the world his cousin was screaming about.
Oh.
Oh.
He was back.
"oh."
Another cheer.
"Okay, okay. Sakusa, Mr.Annoyed, Sir-"
"Please stop talking."
"Heheh. I'll see you at school later then, okay!!?"
"Uh-huh.."
Komori hangs up and Sakusa drops his phone to the pillow. That was the most unintelligent conversation he had had in a while.
But..he's back. He feels normal, he doesn't feel like getting up and poking fun at every living person who spares a glance towards him.
He does, however, feel every single germ and spec of dust on and around his body. Everything he had missed in the last day.
He shakily gets up, walks over to the bathroom, and takes a quick but needed shower.
"You're feeling better, today?" Kita questions.
Atsumu bounces the volleyball on the ground and up into his hand, repeatedly.
"Maybe a bit tired." He flashes a grin.
"But better."
"That's good. Do you need to talk about it?"
"Nah," Atsumu waves his hand dismissively. "Everythins sorted out. I appreciate the concern, though."
"Okay." Kita turns around and announces the next set of drills. As they get in formation Osamu glances wearily over to Atsumu.
"Hmm? What, I look so good today you can't stop starin, right? It's okay. Happens a lot."
Osamu’s face scrunches into a grimace.
"As if. It's hard to look at ya for more than a second."
"Cause I shine so bright?"
"No, because yer ugly."
"We're twins."
"I liked you better when you were Sakusa."
They continue practice, and Atsumu is in better form than ever. He's smiling and high-fiving people and Osamu almost feels p-
"Don't tell me you're feeling proud of him right now."
Osamu jumps in his spot and looks to Suna, whose made his way over to him and is drinking from a water bottle.
"Huh? No! Just..nice to see em' back to normal, is all."
"Right. Whatever, gives me content for my YouTube channel again."
"Yer what?"
"Hm?"
Throughout the day both boys have to patch the holes they had created Monday. Sakusa had to fend off many people who tried to get close to him and Atsumu had to make a couple apologies. Not to everyone, though. Actually, some of the people who he was rude to the day before he was actually hoping to cut off at some point, so really his job was made easier.
None of that is the hard part, though. The hard part comes after school, when both boys are alone in their rooms, and one decides to message the other.
Atsumu and Sakusa Private Chat
Atsumu: hey, Omi.
Sakusa: hi
Atsumu: soo
Atsumu: how was your day
Sakusa: it was fine. Some people thought they were my friends.
Atsumu: you’re so mean 😭
Sakusa: how was yours
Atsumu: ooh it was fun! I was really in a volleyball mood, so naturally, I was the best on the court today. I'm terms of people I apologized to a couple of em, but it was actually real easy
Sakusa: cool
Atsumu: yeahhh
Atsumu: ALSO Osamu had to pay Rin back for the drive yesterday. You know what he had to promise him??
Sakusa: what?
Atsumu: A date day. HE HAS TO TAKE RIN OUT ON A DATE
Sakusa: ...oh
Atsumu: I knew they had it bad for eachother but I didn't know it would come so soon!
Sakusa: yeah..
Atsumu: yeah,,
Atsumu: ...
Atsumu: Omi?
Sakusa: what
Atsumu: do. you like me
Sakusa: I don't know
Atsumu: tell me the truth
Sakusa: ...
Atsumu: ??
Sakusa: I guess
Atsumu: you do?? You like me??!!!
Sakusa: I already answered that,
Atsumu: I know I know I'm just
Atsumu: freaking outgvdtjff??? Really happy???
Sakusa: okay..
Atsumu: are you???
Sakusa: maybe
Atsumu: aaaaaaa
Atsumu: are you okay??? With this??
Sakusa: I don't know
Atsumu: you don't know?
Sakusa: it's still hard right now
Atsumu: we'll get through it together, okay?
Sakusa: okay
Sakusa: well
Atsumu: ?
Sakusa: I have something I want to say to you.
Atsumu: What is it??
Atsumu immediately receives a call. He swipes right on it and brings it to his ear.
"Omi? You good?"
"Miya."
Atsumus breath catches in his throat at Sakusas warm but serious tone.
"..yeah?"
"Will... you go out with me...?"
"..."
There's a long stretch of silence. Atsumu is trying not to scream into the microphone right now.
It's happening and it wasn't even him who asked. He wanted to do it.
Whatever. He can just initiate the inevitable proposal.
"I...Yes yes yes yes yes yes Omi-Omi I-"
There's a chuckle from the other side.
"Huh?? Omi?? Yer laughin?"
It immediately stops. "No."
"Yer laughin??!!! Are ya smiling? You're smilin on the phone with me??"
"No...I'm not.."
"Ya know, an important part of relationships is telling the truth."
"..."
"I can't believe I got The Sakusa Kiyoomi to smile. Mr.Sea Urchin, Sir-"
"Please stop.."
"Awh, I'm only allowed to call ya Omi?"
"..yes."
Atsumu practically faints as he falls onto his bed.
"Oh my god.."
He is so weak for this man.
He props an elbow up, trying to clear his head.
"So...are you okay? You're comfortable with this?"
"You'll..probably still have to help me with some of it. But..yes. If you are."
"Of course, of course.."
There's only a brief beat of silence before Atsumu speaks up again.
"Hey, Omi?"
"Yeah?"
"I...uh. I love ya."
"...
I love you, too."