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Day 4 - A Date
Lev woke up to the dull beeping of his alarm and groped blindly for his phone, trying to switch off. He yanked the device from its charger and managed to turn it off, then rolled over again.
School…
The allure of just staying in bed was strong for a few seconds until the events of the past several days hit him with all the force of a tsunami.
See, Lev had scraped every bit of courage he had together just two days ago and proposed courtship to Yaku Morisuke.
The feared omegian 3rd year on the volleyball team, who’d never been very popular with…well with just about anyone of the upper secondaries. He was brash and sometimes aggressive. Stubborn, uncooperative on the best of days, and overall, just not what alphas were typically looking for.
Lev practically leaped from the bed and dashed into the bathroom, a flurry of toothpaste and hair combs as he prepared for the day with lightning speed.
As he swept back his hair, he took a moment to investigate his appearance in the mirror.
…I guess I’m different that way.
Lev wasn’t about to go bragging about, but he was certainly an eye-catcher in the Tokyo streets. His height and foreign features, courtesy of his mother, made him stand out. Emerald green eyes weren’t usual at Nekoma, and he’d received enough offers for consideration from lowers within the first few months of school alone to make things clear to him.
He supposed that was why Yaku had seemed so utterly shocked, so totally blindsided, by Lev thrusting a box tied with ribbon into his face.
It’s…not my birthday?
Lev could still remember the pure confusion on Yaku’s face. It was the first time he’d ever seen Yaku look so open.
Perhaps even hurt, until Lev had finally gotten it through to him that he wasn’t joking.
He wanted to court Yaku Morisuke.
I don’t get it…why no one would see him that way…I couldn’t NOT see him that way from the very first practice. He’s so…beautiful. His eyes and the way his concentration never breaks. He’s so smart and clever, and he doesn’t hold his tongue for anyone. He’s amazing. So much better than those lowers who just stare at me and giggle whenever I try to talk to them.
After making sure he looked good enough, Lev found himself smiling in the mirror.
But who cares! If no one else can see him that way, then that’s fine by me! That just means he’s all mine!
It was almost a childish and distinctly alphian way to think of it. But that was Lev, and it was with pleasant thoughts that he seized his backpack and headed out the door. The sidewalks became more and more crowded as he strode towards the school.
It does suck we’re in different years…I’ve got so little time with him here at Nekoma. But that’s ok! I’ll just make the most of it…
His mental train came to a screeching halt when it hit him just now.
We’re courting.
Obviously.
And that means…we can go out together. Just us. And it’s not weird. We’re supposed to do things, just the two of us.
It then struck Lev rather poignantly that he’d never actually spent much time with Morisuke, just the two of them.
80% of the time they’d spent together was volleyball practice or hanging around with the whole team, and then there was the receiving practice that Lev did extra with Morisuke.
That was one on one time, he supposed, but it just involved Morisuke, a national-level libero, screaming at him to get his ass in gear and actually touch the ball, so it was more terrifying than it was romantic.
It wasn’t supposed to be romantic until now. Until now, when he was suddenly an alpha who should probably take his omega on a date to mark the start of their courtship.
Shit.
So Lev spent the rest of the day brainstorming ideas. Classes flew by, and he didn’t pay even the slightest attention, and the more he struggled with ideas, the more he concluded that simplest was best.
It was pretty obvious that Morisuke wasn’t your average omega. As such, he probably wasn’t expecting anything fancy or super-specific.
Considering how shocked he was I proposed, I doubt he’s expecting anything at all.
Suddenly, Lev felt a wash of sadness.
That wasn’t ok. That Yaku wasn’t expecting anything special to be done for him. That he never thought anyone would want to court him, or take him out, or treat him well.
And Lev might be a bumbling first year who still didn’t know the first thing about volleyball or courting, but he wasn’t about to let such a thing stand.
His mind was made up when he arrived at volleyball practice, and when he walked in, calling his hellos, he tried his best not to be any different around Yaku.
Everyone on the team was well aware of their new relationship status, but Yaku had been pretty furious when he’d dared be a bit closer to him than usual the day before, and Lev didn’t want a repeat.
As practice commenced, his new concern was how to as Yaku to go on a date with him. It was a pretty simple idea. The evening market in the suburb near Nekoma was a great place to hang out. The team had gone together several times. Lev frequented a takoyaki shop there, but he’d never taken anyone from the team there. Takoyaki, sit at one of the picnic tables, maybe look around at the different stalls. It sounded safe enough as a first date to him.
Now all that was left was to bring it up.
When practice was over, Yaku made a beeline for the locker, but thankfully by the hand of fate, Coach Nekomata called him over to chat.
Lev was helping take down the nets and kept an eye on the situation.
It lined up perfectly. He and Inuoka finished taking down the net, and they were meandered towards the locker room after wiping the courts, right when Nekomata left.
Lev caught Morisuke glancing over to him, and despite his hammering heart, he took his chance.
“Ah, Yaku-san.” He walked over.
Inuoka, good friend that he was, read the room and peeled off into the locker room without another word, leaving the two alone.
“Hey, what’s up?” Morisuke gave such a normal greeting, and Lev supposed that shouldn’t be a surprise.
“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the market and get takoyaki?”
Yaku was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Like…with the team?”
Lev shook his head. “No. Just us?”
Morisuke visibly tensed, but Lev someone got the feeling it wasn’t because he was uncomfortable.
Caught off guard, again, maybe? His face had taken on that vaguely confused, open expression, same as it had when Lev had proposed two days before.
“Oh. Oh, right, I uh…yeah. Yeah, sure, why not? Just gotta shower. I’ve only got my uniform to wear, though.”
“That’s fine! I’ll wear mine too! I’ll wait for you outside the gym, ok?”
“Ok.”
They parted ways to the separate showers in the locker room, and Lev showered as quickly as possible. Stopping to check he was presentable in the mirror, he rushed outside.
I beat him!
He celebrated quietly before he leaned up against the cement bricks by the door.
Morisuke was fair behind him, hair still tousled from the showers. He had his messenger over his shoulder and looked up to Lev suspiciously.
“That was quick.”
“I didn’t have to wait for the showers like I normally do.” He replied, and they started on the path towards the market.
The walk was kind of quiet, but it was a peaceful sort of quiet. Maybe a bit awkward, but not painfully so. It was actually rather comforting in its own sort of way.
Lev tried to avoid staring at his court mate, but he couldn’t help it at times. Morisuke’s hair was still a bit damp from the shower, its natural bounce a bit flattened. His uniform white button-up was pushed back to his elbows, and the sweater vest was slightly big on him. Perhaps he’d ordered a size up on purpose? He’d forgone the ribbon tie, and the skirt was pulled down as low as possible. Lev noticed how he continually reached back to pull on the back of it.
To get to the point, he looked so pretty. The fact that his uniform was a bit messy and his hair wasn’t quite done only added to the appeal.
He was so natural. He wasn’t stiff or keeping up any sort of appearance.
He’s like…someone pulled him out of a painting.
Eloquence had never been Lev’s strong suit, but he couldn’t find anything better in his own brain space. All the words he could use to describe Yaku, from gorgeous to cute to lovely to funny to smart to kind to…the list could go on for miles.
They were all words he had to save for later, though. It was far too soon to shower Yaku with anything so forthcoming as that.
They arrived at the takoyaki shop, and Lev let Morisuke place his order first.
Without pausing for a moment, he put in his own and handed the man the appropriate payment.
Yaku, who’d been getting his wallet out, glared at him so furiously Lev thought he might be incinerated, but he didn’t falter, and a few minutes saw the two of them sat on a picnic table set up near the shop, just outside the entrance to the market street.
Several takoyaki balls went down before either of them spoke, and when someone did, shockingly, it was Morisuke.
He’d looked around before speaking, clearly confirming they were out of earshot of anyone.
“I don’t…get you.”
Lev frowned. “Should I be insulted?”
Morisuke waved a hand, seeming slightly panicked. “No! No, not like that. I just don’t get it. Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“This.”
Lev furrowed his brow a second, studying their surroundings. “You mean…courting you?”
Yaku turned several shades red, and Lev would treasure the memory of it for the rest of his life. He swore it.
“Yes. That.”
After connecting the dots on what the question even meant, Lev was even more confused.
“Why? That’s a weird question. Why else would I ask you? Because I like you. I like you a lot.” Lev had said such things two days ago, so he was able to say them now with less hesitation.
Mostly because it bothered him how Morisuke looked so genuinely confused.
“But I…I was never even that nice to you.”
“You were! You talked to me all the time about all sorts of things. You were nice to me.”
“I yelled at you. I still do. A lot.”
“So?”
“So I’m not supposed to do that! And you’re not supposed to be ok with me doing that?”
“Since when? That’s how you are. And I like how you are.” Lev’s responses to all these accusations of Morisuke’s were so point-blank the older was left sputtering.
“B-But, that’s it! I don’t…how do you want this to go? I can’t….”
He dropped back onto the bench of the picnic table, letting out a groan. “I don’t even know why I agreed to this.”
“Do you not like me?”
Lev didn’t realize this was literally the dumbest thing he could possibly ask at this moment until a few seconds after it was out of his mouth.
However, instead of seeing any sort of dismissal from Yaku, he only managed to make the 3rd year go from tomato to fire truck.
“Shut up! Can’t you read a room, behemoth!?” He shouted, hands fisted.
After this, he crossed his arms and pointedly looked away. “I…do like you. Yeah, of course, I do.”
Internally, the silver-haired boy had nearly broken under the strain of waiting for that answer. When he heard it, it was like a floodgate of emotion, but he had to do his best to rein it all in.
He wore his heart on his sleeve. It was in his nature. So naturally, some of it leaked out.
The smile he gave was electric, and when he spoke, he was sure there was a quiver to his voice from just how happy he was.
“So, it’s fine, right, Yaku-san? You like me. I like you. So we’re courting. There’s nothing else you should worry about.”
“I always worry.”
“I know, it’s kind of cute.”
Instead of receiving either a kick under the table or perhaps a verbal lashing for saying something so tender so casually, he just got Yaku puffing his cheeks like he was particularly frustrated with something.
“Just…Morisuke is fine.”
Lev blinked owlishly. “Huh?”
“I said just call me Morisuke!” The libero snapped quickly, clearly not wanting to admit what he’d said again.
A grin that could light the street beamed from Lev’s face. “Mori, then!’
“No. Morisuke. Not Mori.” Yaku practically hissed.
“Mori,” Lev repeated, still grinning.
“No.”
“Yup. That’s it.”
“You…are actually the worst.”
“Am I? Do you want more takoyaki?”
“…yes.”
They ordered seconds, and the awkwardness of the first minutes of the date dissipated. They were on a whirlwind of a conversation about volleyball, classes, and anything in between. They steered clear of the touchy subjects that had poked up earlier because not everything could start perfectly.
But as far as first dates went, this one had managed to turn out well enough.