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One fine spring morning, Shoyo was participating in the seasonal cleaning. He had already gone through his entire house, reorganizing, cleaning up, and dusting. The only thing he had left to do was finish up vacuuming the house. He grabbed the contraption from his garage and got to work.
Beyond the sound of his vacuum, Shoyo’s phone rang. He turned it off and picked up his phone to answer. “Hello?”
“Hey Shoyo, it’s Korai,” he greeted.
“Oh! Hi Korai-san, how are you?”
“I’m doing pretty good, but more importantly, I’m in the area for a few days.”
Shoyo lit up. “You are? That’s awesome! Do you have any plans?”
“Not much yet,” he said. “I want to challenge you while I’m here.”
Shoyo grinned. “What’s the challenge?”
“I bet you that I can drink a milkshake faster than you.”
Shoyo sputtered, laughing loudly. “Is that really what you’re going with this time? That’s so weird, but you’re totally on, Korai-san.”
“You're the best, Shoyo. Well, not really because I am, but you’re pretty close,” Korai rambled into the receiver.
“Yeah, yeah, sure. You better be ready to prove it,” Shoyo said. “So when are we doing this?”
“I’m ready now if you are.”
“I’m cleaning the house, so it’ll be about an hour, but I’ll text you with the address for a diner near here once I’m done.”
“Boooo.”
“I’m hanging up now. Byeee,” he said, ending the call. He chuckled to himself. “Korai-san never changes.”
He finished vacuuming the living room and ran into his bedroom to change. He decided to change out of his sweatpants into a regular pair of jeans. He shot Korai a text containing the address of his favorite local diner.
He left his house, locking the door behind him. He waved to his neighbor as he passed and walked with a spring in his step, excited to have something fun to do that day.
Once he arrived, he saw that Korai had not arrived yet and felt a sense of pride bloom in his chest. He waited patiently for his friend, taking the time to practice his English on his phone. After a few minutes, he heard hasty footsteps approaching and looked up.
Korai sprinted toward him at full speed. “SHOOOOOOOYOOOOOO!”
Shoyo startled, bracing himself.
Korai slammed into him, lifting him into a hug and spinning in place. He set him back on his feet and slapped his hands onto his shoulders. “Are you ready to lose?”
“I mean considering the fact that I beat you here, my odds are looking pretty good,” he said, smirking.
“Shut up, your house is way closer to this place than my hotel.”
“Since when do you make excuses?”
Korai groaned. “Alright, fine, you beat me here fair and square, but I’ll definitely finish my milkshake way before you do.” He strutted through the entrance and walked up to the employee by the door, Shoyo following close behind. “We’d like a table for two please.”
“Yes sir,” the employee said. “Right this way.” He guided them to a table by a large window.
The two sat down and Korai looked at the employee once more. “We’re ready to order right now, if that’s alright. We’ve got a bet going that involves a couple of milkshakes.”
The employee chuckled. “Of course, sir, what flavors would you like?”
“I’ll get vanilla,” Korai said.
“And I’ll have chocolate. They’ll both be the regular size.”
“Alright, those will be out soon and Ken will bring you guys some water in just a minute.”
“Okay, thank you so much,” Shoyo said with a bright smile. After the man walked away, Shoyo turned to Korai. “I wonder how crazy he thinks we are right now?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Korai declared proudly, his chest puffed out. “The milkshakes here are good, right?”
“They’re the best for miles.”
Korai frowned. “Now I feel kinda bad that we’re just gonna chug them.”
“We can always come back another time,” Shoyo offered.
Korai smiled. “Yeah, I like that idea. We could actually order some food too.”
Shoyo chuckled. “If we do, you have to order the crepes, they’re so good here.”
“I’ll think about it. Now, I have a question for you. Have you somehow gotten shorter since the last time we spoke?”
“Only if your hair has somehow become even more feather-like,” he said with a wink.
“Touche,” he said. “How are the chuckleheads in MSBY doing?”
“Well, Atsumu-san has been a bit depressed lately. I think it’s because he tried to go on a date with this really pretty girl, but I don’t think his jokes were her kind of humor. That kind of thing always gets him down.
“As for Bokuto-san, he and Akaashi-san recently moved in together. I’ve never seen Bokuto-san so happy and he’s always the happiest person in the room. Those two really are meant to be.
“Oh, and Sakusa-san threw a complete fit the other day. He already doesn’t like receiving gifts from fans as it is, but recently a fan gifted him a case of homemade chocolates and I thought he was going to have a heart attack. The poor guy thought they were poisoned. They weren’t. I know because Bokuto-san ate them and he’s fine. It just really freaked him out.”
“That sounds like a wild ride,” Korai commented.
“Yeah, they’re a lively bunch,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “How is Kageyama-kun doing?”
Korai frowned and looked away. “Fine, I guess. The same as he always is. He doesn’t matter right now, though.”
“You asked first, Korai-san,” Shoyo chuckled. “From that response, I’m guessing that he’s still a better server than you and you’re bitter about it?”
“I’m not bitter about his serves. His serves are just good because he’s a machine.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, pouting like a child.
Shoyo snorted. “Kageyama-kun has definitely always been that way.”
Their conversation was cut off as their milkshakes arrived at the table.
“Thank you,” they said in unison. They both turned, looking the other in the eye.
“Count of three?” Shoyo asked.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!” they both cheered before knocking back their milkshakes. Within seconds they both set the glasses back down, only partially drank.
Shoyo pounded his fist on his leg as his head throbbed. He pressed his tongue firmly against the roof of his mouth, attempting to soothe his brain freeze.
Korai sat hunched over with his head in his hands. He groaned, rubbing at his forehead with the heel of his palms.
Shoyo recovered from his brain freeze and began drinking again, this time more slowly and with the straw. He avoided another brain freeze by pacing himself.
When Korai finally looked back up, Shoyo had drunk half of his milkshake already and the sight made Korai panic. He immediately knocked the glass back once more, his lesson from mere moments ago entirely forgotten. For this mistake he earned another hellish brain freeze.
Shoyo finished off the last of his milkshake, setting the glass down triumphantly. “Ha! I win again!”
“You’re a monster,” Korai accused, tears building in his eyes as he clutched his head.
Shoyo chuckled and extended his fist toward him. “You and I know that we’re both monsters. It’s exactly why we’re both so good.”
Korai looked down at Shoyo’s fist and back up to his face. He took a deep breath, the last of his brain freeze dissipating, and wiped his eyes. He placed a hand on Shoyo’s fist, refusing the gesture, and stood up. He walked around the table and leaned over Shoyo.
“What are you doing, Korai-san?”
“Giving you a reward for winning,” he said. He leaned down and kissed him, pulling away quickly. “How’s it feel to be a winner?”
“I—I uh—” his cheeks were stained pink as he struggled to form a sentence.
Korai slapped far too many bills onto the table. “Let’s go.”
“Wait—what—”
Korai took Shoyo’s hand, pulling him out of the seat and out of the diner. “Wow, Shoyo, you’re red as a tomato right now.” He laughed loudly at his expression.
“Of course I am!” Shoyo whined. “You caught me off guard.” He pouted as he allowed himself to be dragged along.
Korai walked in the direction of Shoyo’s house. “So, am I allowed to do it again, then?”
Shoyo sighed, interlocking their fingers. “Yeah, just as long as you don’t surprise me like that in public again. People were staring at us.”
“Shoyo, we’re both star athletes. We get stared at all the time.”
“Okay, you have a point,” Shoyo relented. “But still, give me a warning next time, would you?”
“Warning.”
“Wha—mmph!”
Korai kissed him again, threading his free hand through his hair. He pulled away and stroked his cheek with his thumb. “Better?”
Shoyo shook his head with a chuckle and continued walking, swinging their hands between them.
Korai looked at their interconnected hands and smiled, blushing softly. The two walked off together as the sun set behind them, silhouetting them in golden light.