Chapter Text
Love wasn't something Sakusa spent a lot of time thinking about. No. Instead, his mind was filled with thoughts of volleyball. Training. Strength. Speed. Stability. He followed a simple routine, and focused on doing his best every day without paying much attention to things that were mostly, realistically speaking, out of his reach.
Not everyone lived their lives the same way, though. Sakusa was well aware of that. Some people had space in their heads and time in their lives to chase love around in ways that Sakusa deemed as little else than fruitless. Miya Atsumu, the everlasting Casanova, was one of those people, although he wisely kept his love life to himself for the most part. Then, on the opposite side of the spectrum, Bokuto had decided, as of late, to annoy everyone by becoming even more of an airhead than he usually was, all because of one girl. The new MBSY Black Jackals assistant manager. You.
Bokuto had taken a liking to you from the very first moment he'd seen you enter the gym a couple of weeks ago. By the time you finished introducing yourself as the new MSBY intern for this year, he was practically drooling all over the floor.
Even Miya, who at first had been pretty enthusiastic in agreeing with him about you being hot, eventually had to resort to elbowing him in the ribs. Otherwise, he would just not stop goofing around in order to try and get your attention. Bokuto didn’t care, though, and, from that moment onwards, no one on the team had known peace.
It drove Sakusa nuts.
Bokuto lost track of conversations when you walked past, he constantly goofed around in the court just to try and get your attention, he ran up to you as soon as training was over, he pestered everyone in the locker rooms to take candid shirtless pictures of him for his Instagram… It was an absolute nuisance, and it happened every day; rinse and repeat. All that, and more, just to get one smile from you. And none of it irked Sakusa as much as the way he was calling your name in public right now.
"HEEEEEY!" Bokuto was waving his hands up and down, attracting the attention of everybody on their side of the train platform, while you stayed blissfully ignorant. "HEY! HEY! MANAGER! Over here!!"
Bokuto, along with Miya, Hinata and Sakusa, were about to take a train to the city center for their bi-monthly burger night, when Bokuto spotted you, standing by yourself on the opposite train platform. Distance be damned, he hadn’t wasted a single second in yelling out your name. Sakusa wanted to disappear.
"What is that guy doing…" Miya muttered.
Miya's comment, surprisingly, wasn't criticising his friend’s antics. Everybody else saw it too:
A creepy guy in his mid-forties was approaching you. Dressed in a noncommittal grey suit, he was walking slowly, carefully checking his surroundings while pretending not to look at you. He then stopped, standing right next to you. Way too close to you, especially considering how much empty space there was left on the platform. When he started talking to you, you visibly flinched. Bokuto felt his eyebrows raise and his mouth fall agape.
“That’s… that’s not…” Hinata stuttered.
You were obviously trying to ignore the man, but he would simply just not go away. He continued to talk to you while he got closer and closer. You would take one step backwards, and he would take two steps forward. He was trying to trap you against a corner. You tried to change directions and he forced you to get closer and closer to the platform edge.
“Why isn’t anybody doing anything?” Sakusa grunted under his mask.
All the people around you in the platform seemed to be purposefully minding their own business.
“Let’s go, c’mon!” Bokuto yelled.
Bokuto turned on his heels and darted towards the platform exit. Closely followed by his three friends in a frantic race, the four athletes climbed up the stairs, then ran across the entire station, and hastily went down the stairs to the opposite platform, the one you were on. Hinata, the fastest of the four, arrived first. There wasn’t even a slight hint of shortness of breath in his voice when he spoke firmly:
“Is this guy bothering you?”
The creep looked at the accusatory finger Hinata was pointing at him and, for a split second, he seemed to consider putting up a fight. It was at that moment that Bokuto, Miya and Sakusa joined Hinata on the platform.
Three noticeably athletic men looming over him, all around 1,90 meters tall, were definitely more than enough sign for the creep to swallow his protests and drop out of sight leaving no trace behind. As easy as that.
“You fucking coward!” Bokuto yelled.
At the silence that followed, you looked up at your four protectors. Relief washed over your features, although your face was still pale as a ghost. You let out a big shaky breath.
“Thank you, guys…” You said, still frozen in place. “It was fine, though, you didn’t need to bother…”
“It was not fine!” Bokuto bursted out. “What the fuck was wrong with that guy!?”
“It’s no trouble.” Miya said, frowning. He looked like he still couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. “Does this happen often?”
“Well, not that often…” You said, unconvincingly, after you took a little to answer.
“Do you want us to come along with you the rest of the way?” Bokuto offered.
“Oh, no! Thank you!” You started gesturing frantically, your eyes very open. “I’m fine! It’s fine, really. It was very kind of you, but you don’t need to bother. He’s gone now, so I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Miya said.
“Yeah!” Bokuto insisted. “All you have to do is ask!”
“Yeah!” Hinata nodded behind him.
“No, for real, guys.” You kept saying, flustered. “There is no need. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm fine, really. He's gone, now, anyway!”
They still waited with you on the platform, despite your protests, until your train arrived and you departed safely, because it was the very least they could do. And, in the meantime, hoping to cheer you up, Bokuto wasted no time in pulling out his phone to show you funny videos until, bit by bit, your face returned to its normal color.
The incident at the train station left quite an impression on Sakusa.
He already disliked public transport enough, for social and sanitary reasons mainly, but he couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have to endure sexual harassment on top of that. And yet, you’d kept telling them, over and over, that you were fine… that it was fine. Like you were used to it, like it was no big deal... How you still braved to take the train every day Sakusa couldn’t fathom.
Sakusa arrived early to the gym the next day, as usual. He changed clothes before anybody else made a mess in the locker rooms and then sat down outside the locker room to wait, as he often did. He checked his phone until he heard the door open. When he looked up, he saw you, and was immediately reminded of what had happened the day before.
Although he wasn't often one to initiate a conversation, something inside of him commanded him to ask.
“Was everything alright in the train today?” He said out loud.
His voice resonated all across the empty gym. You seemed startled to see him address you of his own volition for what was probably the first time since you’d known each other. You locked your very wide eyes with his, and took a long look at his entire figure.
“Yeah.” You finally said. You took a couple of hesitant steps towards him. “Everything alright. Thank you for yesterday, again. I swear it doesn’t happen every day.”
“Good.” He replied. “Just let us know if you ever want us to come with you.”
“Okay, thanks.”
You smiled, and Sakusa went back to his phone.
Practice went as usual afterwards, with no remarkable incidents other than Bokuto and the guys asking you the exact same question as Sakusa, and you replying similarly.
Sakusa made a dash for the shower as soon as practice ended and he was soon out of the door and on his way home. There were a couple of errands he had to run before he got to his apartment that night, so he took a little longer than normal walking around the block.
There was not a single hint of sunlight in the sky when he eventually entered the train station to head back home despite the fact that the days were already starting to get longer. It was not easy to focus on the sky, though. Sakusa held his breath behind his mask and then released it slowly. This was not his favorite hour to take the train. The crowd at the station was bigger than what he was used to, and it made him use more mental strength to fight the apprehension.
It made him more aware of his surroundings, too.
He saw him first, and you second. He was there again, a couple of meters away from you. It was the same creep from yesterday, hiding in the shadows, away from the artificial lights of the station. You hadn’t noticed him yet, but there was no mistaking that disgusting expression, those sinister eyes.
It wasn’t Sakusa’s habit to act on impulse but, this time, his feet put him in motion before he had any idea what he was doing. He scooted over to your side and put his arm around your shoulders, startling you; and then turned his head around to glare at the creep, startling him.
The creep vanished in a flash once again. Sakusa turned to look at you again, only to see you looking right back at him, frightened out of your wits.
“I’m sorry. Did I scare you? It's me.” He said, pulling his mask down so you could see his face. "Sakusa Kiyoomi, from the Bla-"
“I know it’s you." You interrupted him. "You’re unmistakable.”
“Oh.”
“And yeah. You scared me.” You said, matter-of-factly. You were pissed.
“That creepy dude from yesterday was here again.” Sakusa explained.
Your mouth fell agape at his words. The color dropped from your face.
“Don’t worry. He already left.”
You kept silent, most likely assessing the situation. Sakusa could see the fear taking place in your features as you looked around, checking your surroundings and the veracity of Sakusa's words. Sakusa squeezed your shoulder and then dropped his arm from you. You did need some comfort, but you two were not that close to be hugging like that.
“I’ll board the train with you.” Sakusa said.
Sakusa tried to be as reassuring as he could, which wasn’t much. He knew he was naturally intimidating with his deadpan expression and his straightforward words, which probably wasn’t helping in this situation, but he still tried his best. He, of all people, knew very well what it was like to be afraid and have no one to rely on.
“I… I…”
“Don’t try to tell me ‘it’s fine’. I know it’s not.” He said. “Listen. I take this very same train home every day. I just normally do it earlier. I’ll wait for you and we’ll take it together every day from now on. That way you won’t have to worry about anything.”
“I… S- Sakusa-san… You really don’t have to…”
“I know I don’t. Don’t sweat it. It’s no big deal.”
You had a silent trip back home sitting together on the train, you looking out the window, him looking at his phone. Sakusa would've liked to think it had been a peaceful ride and, thankfully, you did appear to be a lot calmer than before, but there was still an unmistakable tension in the air the whole time, the kind that lies between two people who don't have much to say to each other. It wasn't the worst uncomfortable silence moment Sakusa had ever experienced, but that fact didn't magically make this situation any more bearable. He just decided to continue looking at his phone, telling himself that he'd only offered to keep you safe, not to keep you company, and he didn't insist when you rejected his offer to walk you home. He watched you leave with relief after you waved him goodbye with a shy smile. This twenty-minute long ride had been more than enough awkward social interaction for the day.
He didn't regret it, though. He couldn't possibly have been at peace with himself if he just let you take the train on your own.
He briefly considered letting someone else know, so that the responsibility of being your guardian didn't rely solely on him, but it soon became evident that he was the only one who took that train every day. Everybody else lived in different directions. Bokuto probably wouldn't mind taking his place every now and then, though. That was something.
So this is going to be my life from now on, Sakusa thought, taking a deep breath as he moved his eyes from his phone to the city landscape behind the window, relaxing his shoulders into his seat.
He knew he would get used to it, eventually. It really wasn't that big of a deal. It was just going to be hard to endure the first days.
The next day, as soon as you stepped into the gym, you made a beeline for him, an alert expression on your face.
Sakusa was sitting in his usual waiting spot as his other teammates gradually started to come in through the door. He looked up from his phone at the sound of his name and, right in front of his face, he saw a flimsy transparent plastic box with cookies inside and a yellow ribbon around it. Behind it, you stood, holding it to him. He held out his hand out of instinct, although not really understanding, and you set the box on it.
“This is for helping me out yesterday. They're my aunt's secret recipe.” You explained, your voice soft as you spoke. "What you did was very kind of you, and you really didn't have to, but I am very grateful for it."
“Uh… thanks.” He said, awkwardly. “You shouldn't have bothered.”
“I know.” You smiled, and Sakusa thought that was a sincere smile if he'd ever seen one. You seemed like a good person.
Then, you simply turned around and left to prepare for work.
“Hey, hey, hey, what the fuck was that.”
Sakusa lifted his head towards the unmistakable voice. It was Bokuto, taking big steps towards him, followed by Hinata and Miya. He stopped before Sakusa with his arms crossed in a brassy gesture which completely failed to intimidate him. He was smiling, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Are those homemade cookies?” Miya asked in an annoying sing-song voice, with an eyebrow raised and a questioning smirk on his dumb face. He leaned down and planted his face in front of the box, closely examining it. "How nice of her. You must have done something to earn them…" He snickered.
Behind him, Hinata looked like a nervous mouse who would explode if he didn’t speak his mind:
“A- are you dating her!?” he failed to whisper, his hand covering his mouth so as not to, supposedly, be heard by any of the other guys.
This seemed to greatly disturb Bokuto, who opened his mouth to protest. Sakusa interrupted him with a big sigh.
“You guys are pathetic.” He said, standing up. “I shooed that creep away from her again yesterday. That was just her saying thanks.”
And, with that, he left the cookies behind him on the chair and headed to the center of the court to start practice on his own, paying no mind to his teammates' voices behind him:
“‘Thanks’ my ass. This guy is hiding something.”
“That creep was there again?”
“Those cookies look good, though…”