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Kiyoomi wasn’t necessarily a man of science. He hated to admit it but he was actually pretty superstitious, he avoided opening umbrellas inside or walking under ladders. He knew it was a stupid fear, but he could not bring himself to do it.
And reading the name of the article that Shoyo had sent on the MSBY Black Jackals groupchat, he couldn’t help himself from thinking that he definitely wasn’t a man of science.
The article read : Is 36 questions and 4 minutes enough to fall in love ? We think so ! Read this article to learn more about it:
He frowned, but didn’t bother to open the link. He decided to read the conversation the groupchat was having instead.
From : Hinata S.
What do you guys think about this ? Do you think it’s actually real ??
From : Bokuto K.
No way ! Sho, you believe this ?
It would be way too easy if it were real !!
From : Barnes O.
Just read the thing. It might be actually possible…
From : Bokuto K.
You really think so ?!?
Why were they having this conversation on the team groupchat ? Couldn’t they do it in a private chat ? This was useless to the rest of the tea-
From : Meian S.
This sounds fun ! One of you should try it ( ＾ ▽ ＾ )
Great, even their captain was involved now.
Should he say something ? He didn’t want to get involved in their stupid shenanigans.
From : Hinata S.
Wich one of us should try it ?
They were seriously thinking about doing it ?
From : Meian S.
Well, i’m married so I can’t really.
From : Barnes O.
Same here.
From : Bokuto K.
And I already have Akaashi (´Д`)
From : Hinata S.
Should I try it with Kageyama ?
From : Barnes O.
The Setter from Adlers ? No ! It’s funnier if it’s people from within the team.
This was ridiculous. How can they actually believe something so stupid ? Kiyoomi wasn’t an expert in love, far from that, but even he knew that a few personal questions and 4 minutes of awkward staring weren’t enough to fall in love with someone. And to top it all off, they wanted members of the team to do it ? What was the point ? They were professional athletes, not a group of teenagers looking for something to do at their next get-together.
Kiyoomi knew that involving himself in this wasn’t the best of ideas, but he was stubborn and wanted to share his opinion (which he judged to be the only correct opinion) with his teammates.
From : Sakusa K.
This is so dumb. You guys actually believe this will work ?
From : Hinata S.
Of course !! Why wouldn’t we ??
From : Bokuto K.
Looks like we got a skeptical~
From : Sakusa K.
Of course i’m skeptical. This sounds stupid.
From : Miya A.
What are ya guys talkin’ ‘bout ?
From : Barnes O.
^^^
From : Miya A.
Gee thanks.
The spiker decided to turn his phone off before the setter could chime in and make this conversation even more unbearable than it already was. He looked at the clock that was mounted on his wall to check the time : 7:43pm.
His stomach growled as the realization that he still hadn’t eaten dinner hit him. His mind quickly wandered off of the chat his team was having as he was now more interested in what he could cook himself for dinner.
___________________________________________________
As Sakusa left for practice the next morning, he had partially forgotten about the article his team had discussed last night. He hadn’t bothered to read all the messages they had sent during the rest of the evening. Instead he had just watched his phone vibrate slightly everytime a new message popped on his screen as he ate his soba.
The spiker honestly didn’t think much of it, he had gotten used to the off-putting and weird conversations that his team would have every so often. And most of the time, the topic would pass just as quickly as it came and it would even be forgotten by morning. So that’s why Kiyoomi hadn’t payed much attention to it.
Clearly, he had been wrong to do so.
‘’What did you just say ?, Kiyoomi asked in disbelief.’’
Atsumu, the setter of the team, had approached his colleague with his usual cocky grin plastered on his face. That wasn’t what disturbed the slightly taller man, what disturbed him was what the blonde had just said to him.
‘’Remember the 36 questions we talked ‘bout last night ?
The raven-haired man tilted his head on the side, as if he was trying to remember a distant memory.
‘’Yes, he finally answered, his voice sounding reluctant.
-The team said we should do ‘em together !’’
He scrunched his nose in disgust, not caring that Atsumu took offense to it.
‘’Why ?
-Ya didn’t read the messages we sent ?, retorted Atsumu.
-No. Why would I ?
-Well ya should ! It’ll answer all yer questions.’’
And with that, the setter left the other man in the locker room to catch up with everything he had missed in the couple hours he was offline. Curiosity got the better of him and Kiyoomi pulled his phone out.
From : Miya A.
Alright I’m all catched up, so do ya guys wanna do it ?
From : Hinata S.
Yes.
From : Bokuto K.
Absolutely.
From : Barnes O.
We still don’t know who should do it.
He skipped through a few messages he deemed useless.
Sakusa stopped when he saw his name appear in the conversation.
From : Hinata S.
What about Kiyoomi-san ?
Ah, so Hinata was to blame for all this.
From : Meian S.
It’s true that he is single…
From : Miya A.
But it’s Omi Omi ! He would never actually agree to do it !
From : Bokuto K.
Especially not with you ( ＾艸＾ )
From : Miya A.
Who said I was doing it ??
From : Hinata S.
Aww c’mon (´Д`) you two are single why don’t you try it ? Can’t you ask him ?
From: Miya A.
I guess I can always try, I’ll have to break out the Tsumu Charm for this one ( ゝ ∀ ･ )v
Ew, thought Kiyoomi.
Practice went by slowly, even if it had been an eventful day, it felt like nothing had happened since this morning. The spiker just couldn’t take his mind off what his teammates wanted him to do.
Why was he always dragged into these stupid shenanigans ? He didn’t understand why the rest of the team wanted someone to do these questions so badly. It’s not like they would be here when Atsumu and him would do it. Did they find it amusing to torture him with stupid scenarios like this one ? What were the questions even about ? His favorite color ? Favorite weather ? What was the point of all of this ?
Sakusa could feel himself getting more and more frustrated the more he thought about it. And to make matters worse, as soon as he walked in the locker rooms Bokuto and Hinata jumped on him and bombarded him about it.
‘’So ? Are you guys gonna do it !? Pleaaase say yes Omi-Omi !, pleaded Bokuto.’’
Atsumu wasn’t too far behind them, but the setter didn’t look too preoccupied by the other two.
‘’No, no way am I doing this. Especially not with Miya, answered Sakusa.’’
Bokuto screamed a ‘’that’s what I said !’’ as the raven haired man walked past them, not wanting this to last any longer than it already had.
‘’Why aren’t you saying anything Atsumu-san ?, asked Shoyo as he turned to the player in question.’’
He smiled.
That wasn’t a good sign.
‘’Well, ‘cause I don’t wanna embarrass Omi-kun.’’
What.
‘’What ?, he repeated out loud.’’
Bokuto and Hinata chimed in with their own expressions of confusions. Well, Kiyoomi was glad to know he wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand what Atsumu meant.
The latter laughed slightly.
‘’Omi-Omi doesn’t want to do it with me ‘cause he’s scared that he’s gonna fall for me.’’
He had to ask again, what ?
The black haired spiker didn’t bother responding, instead he just gave the other his famous ‘I hate you’ glare and hoped that would shut him up.
Obviously he forgot to add his 2 other teammates in this. Bokuto’s sudden outburst of laughter made him jump back in fear.
‘’Y-you can’t be serious Tsum-Tsum ! You actually think Omi’s gonna fall for you ?, he mocked.
-THAT COULD TOTALLY HAPPEN !’’
Atsumu was quick to defend himself against his teammate’s mocking behavior, the two of them argued about the probability of it all while completely forgetting that the man they were talking about was standing next to them. He felt a nudge to his side and turned his head around to see the smallest of his teammates looking at him. Hinata was staring at him, uncomfortably so too.
‘’I think Atsumu has a point, you don’t really have a reason not to do it. Except if you’re scared.
-That doesn’t make any sense, he answered defensively.
-When you think about it, it does ! In a weird way…’’
Sakusa frowned in the blond’s direction.
There was no way he could ever fall in love with him.
It just wouldn’t happen, not in a million years. How could the rest of the team doubt that ?
‘’Miya.’’
Atsumu stopped fighting with Bokuto and looked over to the spiker, his expression quickly fading from annoyed to scared.
‘’Why the aggressive tone Omi-Omi ?, he asked.
-We’re doing these stupid questions.’’
Sadly, Kiyoomi started having second thoughts about his decision way too late. Considering that Atsumu was already at his place.
Despite was he thought about him, Sakusa had to admit that the setter wasn’t a horrible guest. He wasn’t dirty, he actually smelled nice. And he didn’t make a mess in the kitchen while he and Sakusa were having a quick tea before starting.
Yet the spiker still didn’t like his presence in his home. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Or maybe it was the fact he didn’t necessarily like Atsumu to begin with.
But seeing how happy the other man was discouraged Kiyoomi from kicking him out only half an hour after his arrival.
‘’Let’s get this over with, he stated after putting their cups away.
-Ya wanna do it right now ?
-Yes, it’s what I invited you for isn’t it ? Let’s go sit down on the couch, it’s more comfortable.’’
The two of them made their way into the living room. Atsumu, unfamiliar with the place, almost bumped into a small shelf on his way to the couch, but he managed to dodge it last minute.
‘’Ha ! It’s quite an appartement ya got there Omi-kun, ‘must cost ya a lot.
-Well being an athlete pays well, simply answered Kiyoomi.
-Ya right, but I prefere keepin’ the money for other things y’know ?’’
Kiyoomi nodded in response.
The blonde setter took place at the opposite end of the couch of where Sakusa was sitting, phone in hand.
‘’Okay so, before we start there’s some rules we need to follow, he informed, or that’s what the site says.
-Get on with it already.
-We ask one question each, so we exchange the phone after every question alright ? And at the end we have to stare into eachother’s eyes for like… 4 minutes.’’
The spiker sighed longly.
‘’4 minutes ? That’s going to be hell…
-And we must do it in complete silence.
-Atleast that, he retorted.’’
Atsumu snorted in response. Not understanding that Kiyoomi was insulting him and his annoying voice.
‘’Should I start ?, asked Atsumu.
-Suit yourself.
-Okay !’’
He readjusted his sitting position before starting.
‘’Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would ya want as a dinner guest ?
-Oh.’’
Kiyoomi raised his eyebrows in surprise, he hadn’t expected those kinds of questions. Well, atleast this was going to be a little more fun that what he had imagined.
‘’Oh that’s a hard one but… I would have to say my oldest sister. She cut off all contact with our family after she turned 20.
-Omi that’s horrible, i’m so sorry, what happened ? If ya don’t mind me askin’ ‘’
He shrugged his shoulders.
‘’It happened a few years ago, I’m over it now. She cut contact because my family couldn’t accept the fact she was a lesbian. I would want to see her one more time to tell her that I accept her, and that she did the right thing by cutting the rest of the family off. I would do the same but sadly I can’t disappear as easily as her, so I’m stuck with them until they disown me themselves.
-Geez that’s a hard one… Not so secretive all of a sudden uh Omi-kun ?, joked Atsumu, clearly trying to lighten the atmosphere.’’
Kiyoomi shrugged his shoulders again. Of course he was still a bit upset about his sister leaving, especially since he liked her a lot more than his other siblings. But it had been 6 years since that incident, he didn’t mind talking about it now.
‘’Noooo… Now my answer is gonna sound so bad…’’
Atsumu hid his face in his hands as he giggled awkwardly into them.
‘’Well not everyone can have a philosophical answer, and we have to be as honest as possible so, you might as well tell me, answered Kiyoomi.
-I wanna meet Eichiro Oda and ask him how One Piece is gonna end.
-Really ?’’
Sakusa couldn’t help but feel a little surprised, he didn’t even know that his teammate was a fan of the never ending manga.
‘’If you could meet anyone in the world you would pick Eichiro Oda ?
-Yeah !! He’s just taking so long to give us the conclusion, I’ve been reading the manga since I was 15 !! I wanna know how it ends before I get married and have kids !’’
That’s awfully specific, thought Sakusa, but I guess I understand what he means.
‘’Well that’s an interesting answer, simply stated the spiker.
-It’s fine If ya think it’s stupid.
-Everything you say is stupid.
-So harsh Omi-Omi.’’
The black-haired man rolled his eyes in exasperation at the dramatic tone Atsumu had used. This man was going to be the death of him, and they were literally just on the first question.
‘’Okay it’s yer turn Omi-kun !, reminded the setter as he handed him his phone.’’
He quickly read the question on screen before reading it again but outloud.
‘’Would you like to be famous ? In what way ?’’
Atsumu laughed in response.
‘’This one’s easy ! We’re kinda famous already. But if I could change one thing about my current fame it would be my fans.
-Seriously ? I thought you loved having all those people drool over you.’’
The blond titled his head to the side while making a 50/50 movement with his hand.
‘’Depends wich ones, some of them are really nice but I can’t help but feel a little bit uncomfortable after seeing so many people tweet about how much they want to be crushed in between my thighs.’’
Kiyoomi choked on air.
‘’Yeah, see what I mean ?
-I-I do.’’
He recollected himself before realizing it was his turn to answer the question.
‘’I kinda feel the same way as you, but with all my fans in general. It’s especially annoying when they bring me gifts after I state multiples times that I will decline any gifts my fans try to bring me.’’
Atsumu giggles slightly.
‘’Why don’tcha just accept ‘em ?
-It’s gross.
-Sure, whatever ya say Omi-kun.’’
‘’Before making a telephone call, do ya ever rehearse what yer going to say ? Why ?’’
Kiyoomi didn’t have to think much about that one.
‘’No, I just call the person. If I know why I’m calling them I don’t need to rehearse.
-Whaaat ? But what if ya mess up ? I thought you would totally be the type to do that !
-Well I don’t. What about you ?
-I totally do ! I’m always so scared of sayin’ somethin’ wrong ! ‘Specially when I’m callin’ ‘Samu ! He never lets me live my mistakes down.’’
Kiyoomi let out an amused sigh, much to Atsumu’s dismay.
‘’Hey ! Yer supposed to fall in love with me ! Stop being on ‘Samu’s side !’’
‘’ What would constitute a “perfect” day for you ?
-Wait give me a minute to think.’’
Atsumu hummed quietly as he was thinking about his answer, giving the spiker time to think about it too.
‘’I would say… A day kind of like back in highschool ! When I would go to school with ‘Samu and got to play volleyball with him, Kita-san and Aran-kun and all the others.’’
He smiled, probably imagining how nice it would be to get his old team back together one day so they could all play together again.
‘’But I don’t really get to complain tho, as long as I get to play volleyball everyday is fine to me.’’
That’s sweet, in a way.
‘’Well, for me it would be quite the opposite. The days where I get to treat myself are the bests, answered Kiyoomi.
-HA ! I should have seen that coming ! Yer totally the kinda guy to have spa days and stuff.
-I do and they’re great.’’
Before Kiyoomi could add on why he thinks spa days are the best, he got cut off by his teammate making an ‘’awww’’ sound.
‘’The next question is so cute !, he informed as he held the phone close to his face.
-Hey I wasn’t done… Well, whatever, it’s fine. Just know that the days where you can truly take care of yourself are the bests.’’
The blonde giggled in response.
‘’I know Omi-kun, but the next one is so good. When did ya last sing to yerself ? To someone else ?’’
He looked up from his phone with a curious smile on his face, he had never heard Sakusa express his feelings on any music ever, much less to singing. He and the others in the team would often sing to themselves in the lockers rooms after a match, it was a good way to relax after a long day. But of course, Kiyoomi would always stay quiet.
‘’I don’t really sing but… I guess sometimes I hum to myself when I cook, explained the spiker. And last time I sang to someone else was… I don’t know… Motoya’s birthday last year ? When we all sang happy birthday together ? Does that count ?’’
Atsumu nodded.
‘’ ‘Course it does ! I wouldn’t imagine ya as much of a singer anyway.
-What’s that supposed to mean ?, he snapped back.
-Well yer Omi-Omi, ya kinda hate fun.’’
The latter scoffed and rolled his eyes at his guest, who did nothing but laugh at him for it.
‘’See what I mean ?
-Whatever. What’s your answer Miya ?’’
The setter put his hands up in a defensive manner.
‘’Wow cut the attitude, ‘m sorry, didn’t mean to upset ya y’know. But on the contrary I sing all the time ! Last time I sang to myself was this morning in the locker rooms and last time I sang to someone else was this morning in the locker rooms ! Two birds, one stone, am I right ?’’
He looked at Kiyoomi with a stupid grin plastered on his face, as if he expected the other man to reciprocate his humor or something. It, of course, didn’t happen and the black-haired spiker just stared at him with his brows furrowed.
‘’I dunno what else I was expecting, mumbled Atsumu as he handed Kiyoomi his phone.’’
‘’If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30 year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want ?
-Body of a 30 year old ! Easy !
-Yeah I have to agree. Even if my memory would get bad atleast I could still play volleyball.
-Exactly ! My god Omi-Omi, are we bonding ? Are we falling in love ?’’
Kiyoomi felt somehow insulted by the excitement in his guest’s voice. Ignoring the rising heat in his cheeks he simply answered a small ‘no’ before passing to the next question.
‘’Do ya have a secret hunch about how ya will die ?’’
The spiker sighed and sunk a bit more into the couch as he thought about the question.
‘’It’s… Hard to say. I’m perfectly healthy so I don’t think it will be of medical problems… I think I’ll just of old age.’’
He stared into the distance.
‘’I don’t like thinkin’ ‘bout it, confessed Atsumu, it’s so depressin’ to do so. ‘Specially ‘cause we still got our entire lives in front of us.’’
They both stayed silent for some time, like sharing an inaudible fear of the future that only them knew about. It almost felt… Intimate to Kiyoomi. He just wasn’t used to his blonde teammate staying quiet for this long.
‘’But if I had to die I would wanna be murdered by a fan, spice things up y’know ?’’
Oh my god.
Kiyoomi let out a small laugh, wich made the setter turn his head in surprise.
‘’Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common. Oh, it shouldn’t be too hard, said Sakusa as he put down the phone.
-Oh wow, I’m surprised you’re admitting we have things in common.’’
Sakusa ignored him.
‘’We both love volleyball.
-Ya, and we’re both hot.
-Excuse me ?’’
He hated to interrupt people, but he wasn’t sure he heard Atsumu correctly.
‘’I said you’re hot, and I’m hot, so that’s something also.’’
Sakusa shook his head like a disappointed father who had just found his son’s porno magazines.
‘’Miya, what the hell ?’’
The man threw his hands over his head.
‘’I’m not wrong !! And also we both got siblings, so that’s three things we got in common. Oh- and our love of my brother’s onigiris !! ’’
The fact he sounded so proud of himself was the worst part of all of this. But Sakusa decided to accept it and move on with the questions.
‘’Another good one : for what in yer life do ya feel most grateful for ?’’
He looked at Kiyoomi with a sly smirk.
‘’I think I already know yer answer.’’
The spiker scrunched his face in response.
‘’No you don’t.
-How do ya know for sure ?
-I am not that predictable, he exclaimed.’’
Atsumu gave him a look that he guessed meant : are ya sure ‘bout that ?
‘’Ok let’s both say it on the count of three, suggested Sakusa.
-Works for me.
-Okay, one… Two… Three !’’
Their responses meet at the same time : my job ! / yer job.
Kiyoomi face looked even more unpleased now. Like a kid who just got insulted for the first time.
‘’How did you know ?
-Well ya mentioned that if ya could cut yer parents off ya would, and I don’t think yer the type to say cheesy stuff like ‘ I’m grateful for my friends’. And also ya love yer job a lot, can’t blame ya I do too, he explained.’’
Kiyoomi huffed slightly.
‘’It’s creepy you guessed that.
-Wanna guess my answer then ?
-Oh no it’s easy, you’re probably going to mention Osamu-san and your family who always supported you through everything and-
-Yer creepy too Omi-kun.’’
‘’If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be ?’’
Kiyoomi could feel himself getting sick. He had a lot to say about this question, but at the same time he didn’t want to say anything. He gripped his sweater nervously and put the phone down slowly.
‘’Honestly I only have two complaints, started Atsumu, not aware of Kiyoomi’s distraught. One, I wished my mom gave Osamu and me separate bedrooms once we became teens and two, she should’ve divorced my dad sooner. What about you Omi-kun ?’’
His teammate’s ridiculous changes made him relax a bit, he managed to get his mind off the upsetting question.
‘’Wait- you had to share a room with Osamu-san even when you were teenagers ?
-Yeah ! It was crazy !!, he continued with a laugh, do ya know how akward it is to share a room with someone everyday of yer life ?’’
Kiyoomi shaked his head.
‘’It was horrible !, complained the setter.
-It sounds awful.
-It was ! But- our mom was a single mom and she had to work a lot to make ends meet, so we never actually complained to her. We knew she was giving us the best living conditions she could, and we loved her a lot for that, still do.’’
Atsumu smiled fondly.
‘’What happened to your dad ? If- if you don’t mind me asking.’’
The blond setter sighed longly, sinking into the cushions.
‘’He was an asshole, he cheated on our mom when we were 6. Osamu and I locked him out of the house when we found out.’’ A light, nostalgic chuckle escaped his lips. ‘’It was ridiculous really, we told him we wouldn’t let him back in ever ‘cause he hurt our mom. And we never did.
-Really ? How ?
-He got a hotel and stayed there, he divorced my mom and came back for his stuff a week later, then we never saw him again.’’
Kiyoomi was bad with social cues, he couldn’t tell if talking about this hurt Atsumu or if he was just reminiscing on his childhood.
‘’I’m… Sorry ?
-It’s okay Omi-Omi, I think it’s a funny story !’’ Oh, oh thank god.
The blond looked at Kiyoomi with the same curious grin as before.
‘’What ‘bout ya ?
-Uh… There’s a lot of stuff to say and I don’t know if…’’
He played with his hands nervously. Even if he didn’t look at his teammate, he could still tell that the other was staring at him with an apologetic look on his face.
‘’Ya shouldn’t force yerself then, ya can skip this one I don’t mind.
-I just- I just wished my parents hadn’t been as strict as they were.’’
Atsumu gave him a soft smile and an understanding nod.
‘’I would hug ya but ya would hate that.
-I would.’’
The blond took his gaze off of him to read the next question, he winced slightly.
‘’This question isn’t gonna be much help… We can skip it if ya want, he informed.
-Well, what’s the question ?’’
As much as he appreciated his teammate’s concern, he also didn’t like being treated like he was a fragile little thing that was gonna break any second.
‘’ Take four minutes and tell yer partner yer life story in as much detail as possible.
-Yikes, that’s long.’’
Atsumu frowned.
‘’But is that okay ?
-Yes, you just won’t get much detail because I still like keeping some things about my life private.
-Got it.’’
The blond set a timer to go off after 4 minutes. Sakusa took a deep breath as he pressed start and he commenced his monologue.
‘’I wasn’t born in Tokyo actually, I was born in a small town named Ichikawa. But I was too young to remember anything from there. We moved because my father got a job promotion, but my family thought it was convenient. My mother’s side of the family already lived there. That’s how I met Motoya.
-Ya guys were close as kids ?
-Not really, I wouldn’t really talk to anyone in my school. We only started getting close because of volleyball.’’ He looked off to the distance. ‘’It’s sad to say so but I can’t remember what got me into volleyball. I started playing when I was really young, so my memories get fuzzy when I try to think about it too much.
But I’m glad I started playing, I literally wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for it. And hum…’’
He drifted off to see how much time he had left, he still had 2 minutes to go.
‘’…I have an older brother and an older sister. And like I said earlier my sister came out as a lesbian a few years ago and cut my family off. I don’t talk to my brother much, he’s too much of an asshole.
-Look who’s talking~, mocked Atsumu.
-Shut up, he’s worse than me.’’ The setter gasped dramatically. ‘’And I don’t want to talk more about my family. I moved out as soon as I joined MSBY, but I still got my parents to pay my rent for the first few months I was here, but now I don’t need them for that anymore. And… I don’t really know what else to say…’’
He still had 30 seconds to go, which wasn’t a lot but for Kiyoomi it felt like it was never ending. He hoped Atsumu would ask him another question to help him fill the blank, but he didn’t.
‘’And I love my job, my teammates are unbearable and I’m still in contact with Motoya, we’re very close now.’’
The timer finished a few seconds later. The spiker let out a relieved sigh that made the other man chuckle.
‘’Never heard ya talk that much before Omi-kun, it’s nice.
-Shut up. Now I have to listen to you talk for 4 minutes straight.
-Rude, he scoffed.’’
‘’Okay, so, I was born in Kōbe on the 5th of October, 5 minutes after ‘Samu. But don’t tell anyone else that, ‘cause he always likes to make fun of me for being the younger one, wich is dumb ‘cause it’s only 5 minutes. But whatever- and we grew up together, still living in Kōbe. I already told ya the story of how ‘Samu and me bullied our dad into leavin’. But I just wanna say again that I really love our mom and I’m very grateful for everything she did for us.’’
He looked over at Sakusa to make sure he was still listening, wich he was.
‘’We both started playin’ volleyball when we were around 10, and that’s when we meet Aran-kun !
-Who ?
-The ace from my second year team ? The number four ? Remember him ?’’
Kiyoomi could vaguely recall the man he was talking about.
‘’… Yes.
-Okay good- Me and ‘Samu thought he was super cool ‘cause he had a foreign name and we befriended him then. We stuck to him until highschool. God he’s just so cool !! Wish ya could meet him’’ Sure. ‘’He was also my first crush.’’ Oh. ‘’But that’s not important- ‘Samu had a bigger crush on him anyways, I was more into Kita-sa- I mean- The old captain of Inarizaki.
-The one with the black and white hair ?, he interrupted, finding himself slightly surprised by this revelation, I always thought you hated him. He’s kind of your opposite.’’
Atsumu shrugged.
‘’What can I say ? I like someone who can keep me in check !’’
Someone like me ?, thought Kiyoomi.
The time was up shortly after that. Much too soon in Atsumu’s taste.
‘’ If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be ?
-Flying !! Wait no- Super strength- no- Flying ! Like that I never have to take the bus again !
-Smart, Kiyoomi retorted sarcastically. I would want to read minds.’’
The blond tilted his head to the side.
‘’That’s boring.
-Fuck yo-
-Why do you want to read minds though ?’’
He sighed.
‘’Because people are confusing, and I want to know what everyone is really thinking instead of what they’re saying.’’
Atsumu nodded.
‘’Honestly now that ya say it like that, it doesn’t sound like too bad of a power. Can I change mine to tha-
-No, no doubles.’’
Kiyoomi felt like laughing when he saw the angry pout his teammate had on his face. It was endearing in a weird way.
He couldn’t believe he had just described something that Atsumu did as ‘endearing’, were they actually getting closer because of these stupid questions ? Was it actually possible that-
His train of thoughts got interrupted by his unpleasantly loud guest.
‘’If a crystal ball could tell ya the truth about yourself, yer life, the future or anything else, what would ya want to know ?’’
Kiyoomi looked up abruptly to the other man. The latter seemed surprised by his intense gaze.
‘’Why the glare all of a sudden ?, he asked nervously.
-Oh- sorry- I didn’t mean to.
-Wow did I just hear Omi-Omi apologize ? This is crazy !’’ He laughed obnoxiously.
Kiyoomi sighed internally. No, no way was he falling for this man.
‘’Shut up. Let me answer the question.
-Okay~
-I would say… My life.’’ He paused, gathering some thoughts. ‘’To know if I made all the right decisions. I think it would be interesting to see in wich other direction my life could’ve gone if I had done something different. Even if it’s just a small thing.’’ He paused again. This time for much longer. ‘’Like- like- maybe if I didn’t miss the bus for school so many times, I would be smarter.
-I think yer pretty smart.’’
Kiyoomi felt himself blush.
‘’Atleast yer smart enough for volleyball.’’
Atsumu snorted.
‘’What about you ?, continued the spiker, ignoring the other’s laugh.
-I would want to know ‘bout myself. ‘Cause then I could ask what I need to work on to improve my skills.
-For once you kind of make sense.’’
‘’ Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it ?
-I always wanted to become a painter, but I can’t ‘cause I’m colorblind.’’
The black-haired man didn’t know what to respond.
‘’Oh. Wait- what ?
-Ya didn’t know ? I’m colorblind !’’
He blinked a few times.
‘’Seriously ?
-Yes.’’
A silence filled the room for a couple seconds. The gears in Kiyoomi’s brain stayed glued together as he was trying to understand if his teammate was making fun of him or not. He gave up in mere seconds.
‘’Why would you want to become a painter anyways ? You suck at drawing.’’
Atsumu stared at his teammate with an insulted look on his face.
‘’Wha- I- I don’t-
-You do.’’ He ignored his guest’s protests and answered the question himself. ‘’I can’t really think of anything that I regret not doing, so I’m gonna skip this one.’’
Atsumu simply rolled his eyes and muttered a little ‘booooriiing…~’ under his breath.
‘’ What’s the greatest accomplishment of yer life ?
-Well…’’
Kiyoomi didn’t know how to word this correctly.
‘’I don’t want to get into too much detail, but I think I’ve surpassed a lot of my fears from when I was a teenager. Even if they’re small accomplishments, I still think it’s impressive how much I’ve grown.
-Can ya stop giving such pretty answers ? My answers always sounds stupid next to yers !’’
The spiker stared at him blankly, but the message was clear : you always sound stupid.
‘’What were you gonna say ?
-…Not getting kicked out of the team after making Shoyo-kun believe he was colorblind.
-You did what ? ‘’
Kiyoomi could see that his teammate was trying to contain his fit of laughter.
‘’I made him believe he was colorblind. Everytime he corrected me on a color I would tell him that he was wrong and ‘maybe he’s colorblind’ and he believed me.’’
The other man could feel a headache coming.
‘’How do you even… Come up with such an idea ?’’
He would be lying if he said that he didn’t think Hinata was dumb enough to fall for that, but he was.
‘’What do you value most in friendship ?
-When the person is nice to me, answered Atsumu without a second thought.
-So you don’t value our friendship ?
-Of course I do Omi-kun ! What about ya ?
-When the person isn’t annoying as hell, he retorted with a dry tone.
-So you don’t value our friendship ?
-No, not at all. I hate you.’’ A loud ‘ugh’ sound escaped the other’s lips.
‘’What is yer most treasured memory ?’’
Atsumu smiled softly at his phone, his annoyance from the last question long gone.
‘’That’s a cute one, I really wanna hear yer answer.’’
The other man looked away, slightly embarrassed.
‘’I don’t want to say it.
-It’s the rules ! Ya have to say it !’’
It sounded like they were teenagers stuck in a bad game of truth or dare. Well, he was stuck in the game, his teammate was visibly having the time of his life. So he would be like the blond cheerleader, or something.
‘’If you ever bring what I’m about to say to you up again, you’re a dead man Miya. You understand that ?
-Yes boss. Got it.’’
The dumb grin he was harboring was more than enough proof he absolutely didn’t get it.
‘’… After my first volleyball tournament when I was 10… My team lost early on and… Well- needless to say that I was sad. I was just a kid after all.
-You have emotions ?- ‘’ He ignored him and continued.
‘’And after the game was over and I had changed and everything… I found out that my parents hadn’t even come to watch me play.’’
Atsumu’s mocking gaze softened in mere seconds. He put his hands on top of Kiyoomi’s, wich he took off as quickly as he put it.
‘’Sorry I just-
-It’s okay.’’
The spiker’s words surprised him just as much as they surprised the blond setter.
‘’It is ?
-… Yeah.’’
Atsumu slowly put his hand back in place, as if he felt like touching the spiker’s hand was illegal.
This is weird, thought Kiyoomi, did I make things weird or is it just weird that I don’t hate that Miya is touching me ?
‘’You were saying ?
-Right- I- I found that my parents hadn’t even come to my game. But my older sister came instead. And she comforted me, and she took me out for ice cream afterwards. It wasn’t much but it means a lot to me. It’s one of the only times I felt like my family… Was my family.
-Well, it’s a very cute story and I totally get why it’s so important to ya.’’
They shared a moment of silence. It felt nice.
‘’My story was also ‘bout my brother so… Kinda feels like I’m copying ya.
-No, I want to hear it.’’
Atsumu’s face suddenly flushed. He laughed awkwardly as he hid his face behind his free hand.
‘’Yer going soft on me Omi-kun.
-In your dreams.’’
He laughed again, it still sounded very forced but Kiyoomi decided to ignore it.
‘’My most treasured memory is the first time we meet.’’
The latter glared at him.
‘’Not funny.
-Well- I’m trying to make ya fall in love with me so I might as well slip in some cheesy pick-up lines !
-Your face is red.
-Yer no better !
-Not true. And- just answer the question already.
-Fine- it was the first time ‘Samu and me managed to do a quick together. That’s when I decided I would become the best setter in the world.’’
Kiyoomi huffed. It was a cute memory.
‘’What is your most terrible memory ?’’ How fun.
Atsumu’s smile faded slowly.
‘’Oh… That’s a hard one…’’
He looked around as he thought about it. Then his eyes perked up, as if he had just found the perfect answer.
‘’When ‘Samu told me he was gonna quit volleyball. The more time passes and the more I joke ‘bout it, but it really did hurt me.’’ He squeezed Kiyoomi’s hand. ‘’We had such a big fight ‘bout it too. Sometimes I was scared that he was so mad at me we would never talk again. But I was more angry than afraid, so I didn’t care at the moment. It was horrible. Our mom was out of her mind trying to get us to talk again.’’
Sakusa had never seen Atsumu’s look so… Sad. It felt unnatural.
‘’But one day I walked in on him makin’ Onigiri in the kitchen and he looked so happy. It was crazy. Ya should’ve seen it. And I realized he was still my brother. And he makes really good Onigiris. So I accepted the fact he wanted to get in the restaurant business.
-So you forgave him ?
-No, but I stopped bein’ a baby and fightin’ him on decisions ‘bout his life.’’
The black-haired man raised his brows in surprise.
‘’That’s unexpected of you.
-What ? Being mature ?
-Yes.’’
The setter gasped in shock as he threw a pillow at his teammate’s face.
‘’Asshole !
-Don’t attack me in my own home !
-I can do whatever I want !’’
Kiyoomi felt a laugh bubble up in his chest, but he managed to suppress it.
‘’Now’s your turn, expect if ya don’t want to.
-I can do it, I’m not a kid.’’
Atsumu shrugged and whispered ‘suit yerself’.
Kiyoomi inhaled longly before starting.
‘’Not making it to nationals in my last year of highschool. I failed my team as a captain, and I regret it. Next question, I don’t want to talk about it any longer.’’
‘’ If ya knew that in one year ya would die suddenly, would ya change anythin’ about the way yer now livin’ ? Why ?
-Easy one, no I wouldn’t change anything.
-I think so too. I like my life how it is.’’
Kiyoomi took the phone.
‘’What does friendship mean to you ?’’ He scoffed.
‘’Friendship’s very important. But at the same time it’s overrated. Lika ya won’t die if ya don’t have any. But I like my friends so y’know.
-I never cared about all that stuff.’’
Atsumu cackled.
‘’HA ! I should’ve expected that from you !’’
Kiyoomi felt his cheeks burn up.
‘’I’m not that predictable.
-‘Course yer not.’’
The blond’s smile transformed into a frown as he noticed how much the other was fidgeting with his hands.
‘’Ya okay ? Do ya want to stop ?
-What ?, he looked up from the screen.
-Yer hands. Ya seem nervous.’’
The spiker sighed, he looked off to the side. He cracked his knuckles in a repeated manner.
‘’Yeah it’s just… It was upsetting to think about my last year at Itachiyama again. Most of these questions are very… Personal.’’
Atsumu hummed in agreement.
‘’Sorry if it felt like ya had to do this with me, I can leave if ya want.’’ He scratched his neck. ‘’I know that it’s hard saying no to Shoyo-kun.’’
Kiyoomi snorted.
‘’I didn’t feel obligated to do this. I just wasn’t expecting those kind of questions.
-Okay, good, answered Atsumu with a soft smile.’’
The other man felt his cheeks heat up slightly.
‘’Wich questions are we on ?
-Question 21 : what roles do love and affection play in yer life ?’’
The two shared a laugh.
‘’Can I best honest with you Miya ?, started Sakusa.
-Yeah, of course.
-I don’t like physical affection, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to date anyone ever.’’ Atsumu raised his eyebrows curiously. ‘’I don’t hate love, I just can’t seem to find someone suited for me… Because I’m so complicated.’’
The blond’s eyes twinkled. I can be that someone. He had to stop himself from saying it out loud. It was too sappy, even for him. And if it was too sappy for him, then Omi would absolutely hate it.
‘’Ya’ll find someone Omi-kun.
-… What about you ?
-Heh, sometimes I look for one-night stands and all, but right now I’m fine by myself.’’
‘’ Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of fives items… So basically, I have to compliment you five times and you have to compliment me five times.’’
Atsumu giggled like a teenage girl.
‘’Oooh~ I can’t wait to hear watcha gotta say about me. The beautiful Atsumu Miya~.’’
The setter couldn’t hold his laughter in when Kiyoomi groaned loudly.
‘’Well… Your sets are very good. You’re a very good setter.
-That’s one compliment.
-Aaand…’’ He thought about his words carefully. ‘’You’re not such a bad guest. You didn’t break anything in my house or anything so that’s also good.
-Awww~ you’re so sweet.’’
Kiyoomi felt embarrassment creep up on him.
‘’Stop talking- you have some common sense. You’re not as loud as Bokuto and Hinata. So that’s a plus…’’ He looked around. ‘’And some might say… That your appearance is… Somewhat… Pretty.’’
He avoided the other’s gaze, he just knew that his teammate was staring at him with an unbearably smug grin. Ugh, pretty !? Why did I call him pretty ? He’s an adult man. I should’ve said handsome or… Or… I shouldn’t have said anything at all.
‘’Ya think ‘m pretty ?’’
He hadn’t spoken with the cocky tone that Sakusa was expecting. Instead, he sounded sincere. Like he couldn’t actually believe what the other had just said. Did his compliments flatter Atsumu that much ? Well, it’s true that it was probably the first time he had said something remotely nice to the other man.
Before he could answer, the sound of glass shattering made him jump back in surprise.
‘’Oh shit- Omi-Omi ‘m so sorry- ‘’
Atsumu stood up abruptly from the couch.
‘’I just wanted to stretch- I didn’t see the vase behind me- ‘’
He started to reach out for the glass. Kiyoomi grabbed his wrist.
‘’ No !! Don’t touch it ! You’ll cut yourself ! ’’
The setter stared up at him with a flushed face.
‘’ I know you spend a lot of time taking care of your hands, he clarified, so I don’t want you to get hurt… You didn’t hurt yourself did you ? ‘’
That only made Atsumu’s face even redder. The black-haired man let go of him, he didn’t know how to react. It felt like Atsumu was a completely different person since they started doing these questions.
‘’ Can you stop blushing so much ?, he asked, slightly annoyed.
-‘M not used to us not bickerin’ ! It’s a lot to take in.’’
Kiyoomi huffed.
‘’ I’ll clean this up.’’
The two of them spent the next few minutes in complete silence. Kiyoomi got a broom from his kitchen and started sweeping the reminiscences of his vase off the floor.
The blond started getting uneased by the heavy atmosphere.
‘’ So I guess I’m not such a good guest ?, he started.’’
The other snorted.
‘’ It’s fine. You didn’t do it on purpose.’’
A small smile creeped into the spiker’s face.
‘’Can I tell ya what I like ‘bout ya Omi-kun ?’’
He continued cleaning.
‘’Yes. Go ahead.
-I like how honest ya are. Even if I think it’s annoying sometimes. But most times it’s cool.’’
The sound of the broken pieces of glass clanked together in the trash bag Kiyoomi had brought. Forming a sort of quiet melody in between Atsumu’s words.
‘’And, of course, I think yer an amazin’ player. And I like how ya always know what to say.’’
The other looked up at him curiously.
‘’You think I always know what to say ?
-Well, when we lose a game, ya can always ground us back with a few simple words. And that’s pretty impressive, he explained.’’
He could feel a warm feeling spread in his chest. It felt almost too nice to be real. He wasn’t used to feel so good because of someone else.
‘’And ya always stick to yer own rules. Ya never make exceptions for anyone. I like that too.’’
The spiker bowed his head down. He hoped that his guest couldn’t see how red his face was getting.
‘’And ya take good care of yerself. Yer hair looks real’ nice, and ya always have those black masks. They look cool.
-Okay- that’s more than 5 compliments- you can stop now.’’
He wasn’t sure his heart could handle any more of them. Kiyoomi quickly got up and put the bag on his kitchen counter.
‘’I’ll take it out after you leave.
-Are ya blushin’ too ?
-No. Shut up.’’
He wasn’t falling for Atsumu Miya. Not now. Or ever.
‘’ How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other’s people ? ‘’ Kiyoomi scoffed. ‘’Well, at least you already know my answer. ‘’
His teammate laughed in response.
‘’Yeah, not very good.
-Not very good indeed.’’
They shared a little nod of understanding.
‘’ I never really met most of my family, sometimes my mom’s sister would come over but other than… Nothing really.
-I’m actually closer to Motoya’s family than my own. It’s better than nothing, he added. ‘’
Atsumu looked at the next question and huffed.
‘’ How do ya feel ‘bout your relationship with yer mother ?
-Horrible.
-I know. And you know I’m very close with mine.’’
Kiyoomi paused for a few seconds before hesitantly asking a question.
‘’Did you ever… Get mad at your mother for working as much as she did ?’’
The blond laid back in his seat and scratched his neck.
‘’ Sometimes ‘Samu and I would be sad ‘bout it. But never mad. We loved her too much. Did yer mom work a lot too ?
-Both of my parents worked full-time. I always resented them for it.
-I can imagine.’’ He paused too. ‘’They don’t sound like nice people.’’
‘’ Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, ‘We are both in this room feeling…’ ‘’
Atsumu tilted his head in confusion.
‘’ What does that mean ? It’s a real’ vague question.
-I think it means we have to say three things we have in common ?
-That’s stupid, he deadpanned, also didn’t we have a question like that in the beginning ?’’
Kiyoomi nodded.
‘’We did. So we both like volleyball, Onigiri Miya and…
-We’re both hot.
-Yes, that.’’
‘’Complete this sentence: ‘I wish I had someone with whom I could share…’ ‘’
Atsumu laughed.
‘’ With whom ? That’s awfully formal !’’
His laughter quickly died down as he thought about the question for a bit longer. He frowned slightly.
‘’Can I give ya a sad answer ?’’
The spiker blinked in surprise.
‘’Yes. I keep doing it, so you can too.
-I know I said ‘m not lookin’ for anyone right now, but I wish I had someone with who I could share my life. Like someone I love enough to marry them, y’know ? Or at least want to marry. I don’t care if it’s a man or a woman. I just wish I could find someone. ‘’ He sighed. ‘’sometimes I feel like I’m unlovable. Just like what ya said.’’
Kiyoomi felt a sting in his heart.
‘’You can be annoying. But I don’t think you’re unlovable.’’
The setter smiled.
‘’Thanks. I appreciate it. Also these are supposed to make us fall in love, so I really hope ya don’t think I’m unlovable.’’
The other man rolled his eyes with a, somewhat, amused look on his face.
‘’What would ya want to share with someone ?’’ He shifted his attention to his teammate.
‘’I would want to have someone to share my deepest thoughts with. Someone that would just… Listen to me.
-Wow, look at that ! Omi-kun wants to talk ! Not so quiet all the time are ya ?’’
He rolled his eyes again, a small smile appearing on his lips.
‘’ If ya were going to become a close friend with yer partner, please share what would be important for them to know ?’’
Atsumu hummed quietly. ‘’That’s a good one.’’
The black-haired man didn’t have to ponder about the question much.
‘’It’s easy. Most days I don’t want anyone to touch me, and on the worst days I don’t anyone talking to me either.
-I get it.
-No, you don’t.
-No, I don’t, he joked, but I already knew that ‘bout ya.’’
Kiyoomi shrugged. It was his most famous trait, even his fans knew about it. Interviewers asked him about it every time too.
‘’And I’m really obnoxious, but really insecure at the time, continued Atsumu, well- I like attention. That’s what I mean.
-I already knew that, too.’’
He giggled in response.
‘’Yeah, not surprised.’’
‘’ Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met… Ugh, more compliments ?
-I have to agree with ya on that.’’
Kiyoomi frowned at the phone.
‘’And what does ‘be very honest mean’ ? I was already honest before.
-Yeah same.
-So that’s done ?, insisted the spiker.
-Yeah.’’
It was like the two of them simultaneously agreed that they couldn’t take anymore sappy words from eachother. Kiyoomi didn’t know how to feel about all of this. He hated the fact that he had enjoyed listening to the other man complimenting him. It was sweet. Sure, it still felt akward and he didn’t like how warm and sweaty his face was. But at the same time, it was weirdly nice.
Atsumu cackled as he read the next question aloud.
‘’Share with yer partner an embarrassin’ moment in yer life ! HA ! I know I just said that- but that’s a good one !’’
The spiker could feel himself staring at his guest. Why doesn’t his laugh annoy me now ?, he thought with frustration bubbling in his brain.
Atsumu looked at him with a worried glance.
‘’Why are ya staring at me ?’’
He blushed furiously at the comment.
‘’I- I was lost in- my thoughts.
-Still can’t believe how pretty I am~ ?’’ God, why had he described him as pretty ??
He scoffed and hit his shoulder in, what seemed to be, a playful manner.
‘’I’m not answering that.
-What ? My question or the quiz’s question ?, joked the setter.
-Yours. I want to say both but-‘’ He sighed. ‘’One time when I was a kid I threw a tantrum because I didn’t want my mom to leave for work. It was bad. My sister had to take a day off of school to take care of me, I wouldn’t stop crying.’’
Atsumu whined. ‘’Omi-kun~ !! That’s not embarrassing, that’s sad !’’
‘’-Well, it made me embarrassed !’’
The blond-setter laughed a bit in response.
‘’Okay- if ya want a real’ embarassin’ story ya gotta listen to mine. It’s horrible.’’
Kiyoomi sat back upright in his position.
‘’It was my second year in Inarizaki. Remember Kita-san ? My old captain ?
-Yes.
-Well- like I told ya, I had a huge crush on the guy y’know ? And it followed ‘round the whole year. So I finally decided to tell him how I felt at his graduation.
-How original, the other mocked.
-Shut up, I was a nervous teenager alright ?’’ He stuck his tongue out. ‘’So, I spent weeks thinkin’ ‘bout what to say to him, but in the end I thought ‘it’s Kita-san ! He’s a simple guy, so keep things simple.’ And the plan was to improvise. And the day finally arrives ; the weather is nice, my hair looks good, my confidence is okay. And so, I go up to him before the ceremony and I tell him how I feel, I’m a blushin’, babblin’ mess and all. And you know what he says in response ? ‘’
Kiyoomi shaked his head.
‘’ Can’t say that I do.’’
The setter leaned towards him.
‘’ He said- ‘excuse me ? ‘M not sure I understand.’’ Atsumu flailed his arms around in disbelief. ‘’It happened almost 10 years ago and ‘m still mad ‘bout it !!’’
Kiyoomi couldn’t contain his mocking laugh. He could see the other’s face get as red as a tomato, which just made him laugh harder.
‘’Your confession was so bad he didn’t get it ?
-Maybe- I was so embarrassed I ran away !’’
The both of them started laughing. The laughter distracted Atsumu from the fact that Kiyoomi was looking at him with what could only be described as love in his eyes.
‘’When did you last cry in front of another person ? By yourself ?’’
A sort of awkward silence filled the room. Talking about his childhood was already hard enough, but sharing his vulnerabilities was something else entirely.
‘’I don’t really cry when I’m alone, sometimes when I’m stressed maybe but I can’t remember the last time it happened, started Atsumu, and last time I cried in front of other people was when ‘Samu and I went to the cinema on Friday. The movie we saw was just so sad !
-I see.
-Ya don’t have to answer that question.’’
Kiyoomi didn’t know how to respond.
‘’I just don’t cry a lot to begin with.’’
Atsumu was glad to see they were finally arriving on the last questions, it felt like they had been doing these for hours.
‘’Question 31 : tell yer partner something that you like about them already.’’
His laugh was covered by Kiyoomi’s groans of frustration.
‘’Again ?
-I think these questions ‘re meant for people that don’t know eachother, like at all.
-Can we just go to the next one ?’’
He reached out for the phone but the setter didn’t give it to him. A smug grin plastered on his face.
‘’Nooo~ I want to hear ya compliment me again~’’
Kiyoomi’s face darkened.
‘’Why would you want that ?
-‘Cause I like it.
-You’re pretty, kind of.’’ He shrugged it off as if him saying that wasn’t a big deal.
Internal screaming could be felt through Atsumu’s entire body. It almost became external too, but he managed to keep it under control.
‘’What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about ?, asked Kiyoomi.
-Okay, I know I joke ‘bout a lot of stuff but I only joke ‘bout stuff that’s not offensive.
-Yeah, I agree with that.’’
‘’If ya were to die this evenin’ with NO opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would ya most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t ya told ‘em ?’’
Kiyoomi shrugged. ‘’I guess regretting not telling my parents off ?’’
The blond-man tilted his head in the other’s directions. His interest had visibly peeked.
‘’Oooh~ ? Ya wanna insult them a bit ?
-Yes. A lot even.’’
Atsumu let out a second little ‘oooh~’ again.
‘’Ya should.’’
He nodded in agreement.¨
‘’Personally, I would regret not tellin’ my mom and ‘Samu I love ‘em more.
-That’s sweet.’’
A small giggle escaped the blond’s lips.
‘’Thank you~ !’’
‘’Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be ? Why ?’’
He gasped dramatically.
‘’My hair gel, of course ! It’s really expensive and real’ good quality !’’
The spiker scoffed in amusement.
‘’It’s that important ?
-Yes !’’
He tried not to smile at the other’s excitement. But he found it incredibly hard, way harder than it was an hour ago. Weird.
‘’I would save something that’s actually important : my laptop.
-Wooow ! Ya kids are so addicted to yer electronics.’’
He threw a pillow at his teammate’s face.
‘’We’re the same age asshole !, defended Kiyoomi.
-Yer 6 months older than me though !’’
They were on question 35, almost done.
‘’ Of all the people in yer family, whose death would ya find most disturbing ? Why ?
-Easy, ‘Samu ! He’s in such good shape, would be weird if he died suddenly.
-I was gonna say Motoya, so our answers are really similar.’’
Atsumu lightly hit his spiker on the shoulder.
‘’We’re on the last question Omi-kun ! And ya get to do the honor of askin’ it !’’
He handed his phone to the other man, a dumb smile stuck on his face.
Kiyoomi took a deep breath.
‘’Okay- Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how they might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.’’ Ugh, of course the last question had to be annoying as hell.
Atsumu couldn’t help but find his teammate’s annoyed frown kind of adorable.
He could basically hear his thoughts from a mile away. But he agreed with him, it was a horrible question to finish with.
‘’So I have to be yer therapist for a few minutes ?
-Yeah, I guess so.’’
The two of them spent a moment in complete silence. They didn’t know what to say.
‘’Okay… I have a problem where I always wanna be unique and stuff, Atsumu muttered, like sometimes I get really angry when someone acts like me and it’s annoying.
-What do you mean ?
-Growin’ up with a twin makes ya wanna stand out so people know yer different from yer sibling. And I have this need of bein’ special. For example I don’t like when people say that I’m similar to Shoyo-kun and Bo-kun, ‘cause then I feel like I’m not my own individual.’’
Oh, that actually makes a lot of sense.
‘’I don’t think you’re like them, if that can make you feel better, reassured Kiyoomi, and I think you need to remind yourself that similarities between you and other people don’t mean you guys are the same. You’re a very special person, I never meet someone like you before.’’
Atsumu looked up at him with a soft smile. His cheeks, of course, were completely red. But he didn’t care.
‘’I never knew ya could be so sweet. Thank you, I mean it Omi-kun.’’
He put his hands on top of his once more. The contact between them felt comforting.
Atsumu scooted closer to him on the couch, their legs were almost touching.
‘’Personally, I struggle a lot with being honest with my feelings. I have trouble opening up to people. It complicates certain aspects of my life a lot.’’
A low hum escaped the other’s lips.
‘’I dunno if my advice is gonna be any good, but I think ya should start by telling someone ya really trust, like Komori-san, how ya feel. Even if it’s a bit out of yer comfort zone, it’ll help ya a lot.’’
Kiyoomi leaned towards his guest.
‘’I know, but it’s hard.’’
The setter answered with a reassuring smile. ‘’I know, but ya can do it Omi-Omi.’’
The two teammates didn’t seem to realize how close they’d been sitting. It wasn’t like Kiyoomi to ignore these types of details, but something about feeling the blond setter being close to him made him feel safe. He liked it. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew that he liked it.
It was ridiculous, he was a 22 year old man acting like a highschooler with a dumb crush. Not that he had a crush on Atsumu. Because that would be dumb. But it wasn’t a dumb crush. It would be dumb to have a crush on Atsumu, not the other way around.
God I’m not making any sense, thought Kiyoomi.
‘’We still have to stare at eachother for 4 minutes Omi-Omi, interrupted his not-dumb-crush.’’
He talked in a small voice, as if he was scared to interrupt the moment they’d been sharing. The more time Atsumu spent in his appartement, the crazier Sakusa felt. He couldn’t understand why he was so erratic. Was having the blond setter so close to him making him delirious ?
He had barely registered what his guest had said. Kiyoomi blinked hard before the words finally got to his head.
‘’Oh, yeah. I forgot about that part, he muttered, let’s just finish this, like that you can leave.’’
The air around was suddenly lighter. Atsumu stifled a laugh, wich made the spiker’s heart leap in a weird way, was he having heartburn ? He had to look up the symptoms for that later.
‘’Ya really hate me that much ? Even after we did all these questions ?’’
Kiyoomi’s lips formed a line as he stared awkwardly around him.
‘’I… I don’t hate you. I don’t think I ever did.’’
Atsumu raised an eyebrow curiously.
‘’Ok, maybe I did, but it was a long time ago.
-Uh-uh, how long ago ?
-Like… I realized you’re not that insufferable after our first official match, he admitted.’’
The setter chuckled.
‘’ ‘Right, shall we do the 4 minutes of starin’ now ? ‘’
Kiyoomi nodded.
And so, the timer was set, and the two of them began staring at eachother.
It was everything Kiyoomi had expected it to be ; akward, uncomfortable, slightly creepy and off-putting. He thought that them having to stay quiet during the entire thing was going to be a bonus, but it just made his skin crawl in a way he absolutely detested.
He found himself hating how silent Atsumu was.
He cracked his knuckles nervously, never breaking eye contact. The setter let out a giggle. By now Kiyoomi knew that this way of saying he was embarrassed. He honestly couldn’t blame him, he felt the same.
His chest felt tight. It almost felt like a panic attack, but nicer. Which, he’ll admit, didn’t make much sense.
Usually, Sakusa’s head had a million thoughts running through it, but when he looked into Atsumu’s hazel eyes, everything was quiet. Like the only thing he had to think about was the man in front of him.
He wondered if Atsumu felt the same.
Even if they were staring at eachother, Kiyoomi couldn’t understand what his guest was feeling. The silence weighed heavy around them, it was suffocating.
‘’Hey Omi-kun…’’ He jolted back when he heard Atsumu speak.
‘’No talking.’’
He groaned and leaned back into his seat, never breaking eye contact. His childish pouting made the spiker chuckle warmly.
The seconds seemed to pass by even slower now, they weren’t even a minute in. The awkwardness of the situation seemed to fade thanks to Atsumu’s intervention. Now he looked more bored than anything else. And Kiyoomi knew a bored-Atsumu could do horrendous things, even if their situation didn’t allow them do to much more than they were already doing.
It started small, so small that it took him a second to notice, but he quickly realized that the blonde setter was scotching closer to him, little by little.
Soon enough, he could feel Atsumu’s warmth pressing on his leg. He couldn’t help but blush, and it didn’t help knowing that his guest saw him blush. He was probably a wide-eyed mess, which was probably amusing the other to no end. He did always say that ‘Omi-Omi’ is fun to mess with, because it’s easy to get a reaction out of him. Their gazes were still glued together.
He let out a whisper.
‘’Miya what are you-
-No talkin’.’’ He grinned with a twinge of malice glowing in his eyes. And he knew that Sakusa could see it. Kiyoomi furrowed his brows.
They both stayed still for a few seconds. Then, slowly but surely, Atsumu’s hand hoovered over Sakusa’s, laying gently on top of it. He inspected the spiker’s face for any sign of disgust, but all he could make out was his redness, going so far as to color the tip of his ears.
‘’It’s special to see ya without a mask, muttered the setter.
-I don’t need to wear one in my own home.’’
The blonde’s hand burned his skin like fire, but he couldn’t bring himself to chase it away. It was nice, in a way, to have someone close to him. He let his eyes wander over his teammate’s face, from his chocolate-brown gaze to his slightly pink lips.
Kiyoomi mouth went dry.
I want to kiss him. The thought popped up much too fast for him to ignore it.
It resonated in his mind like an echo. I really, really want to kiss him.
His face went blank as he let the thought swirl in his head.
He felt the setter shift next to him, and he realized he had been staring. Well- of course he was staring, they had too, but he hadn’t been staring at the right thing, and Atsumu noticed. Because of course he would, he was also staring. But unlike him he wasn’t staring at the other’s lips with a gaze that apparently said everything he was thinking out-loud.
What he hadn’t expected was to see Atsumu’s face flush a million shade of reds before him.
Kiyoomi’s breath hitched in his throat as he swallowed nervously. He moved his hand from under Atsumu’s, but only to interlace their fingers together. The action only worsened both of their blushes. But they were too far gone to care.
‘’Omi-kun…’’
He didn’t bother to shut him up this time. They had already failed the ‘silence’ part too many times.
The setter carefully moved his free hand to Kiyoomi’s face, he hesitated before running his fingers through the smooth curls of the other man. He leaned into the touch.
With every breath they took, their faces came closer and closer to one another. The setter’s touch was almost intoxicating to Sakusa, every second that passed where he wasn’t touching him in some way, shape or form felt like a waste. He pressed their foreheads together, and they stayed still for a few moments more.
I want to kiss him.
The thought popped up again, almost like a jump-scare in Kiyoomi’s mind.
Little distance actually separated their lips, he could easily imagine just leaning in and-
And-
And…
BEEP ! BEEP !
The timer went off not even a second later, shaking the two men back to reality.
Kiyoomi pried himself from his guest’s touch, his blush permanent on his face.
‘’Ok it’s done, you can leave now, he spilled.’’
Atsumu looked like he was having the same internal crisis as his teammate’s, face even redder than his.
‘’Yeah… Y-yeah I should go, I promised ‘Samu I would help him and-
-You should go.
-I should.’’
He walked him to the door, arms crossed around his chest like he was protecting himself from his beating heart.
As Atsumu put his shoes on, he glanced nervously at the spiker.
‘’Did ya like it ?’’
Kiyoomi wouldn’t dare to look back at him.
‘’Liked what ?
-Doin’ this with me.
-It was… Fine. You’re not a horrible guest.’’
Atsumu stood up abruptly. Making him jump back in surprise. The setter looked so stiff it hurt.
‘’It was fun, the blonde-man added, thanks for havin’ me Omi-Omi, next time ya can come to my place.’’
He turned towards the door, waving a small ‘goodbye’ to Kiyoomi before leaving as fast as he had invited the other to his appartement.
A new silence filled his home, but it didn’t feel the same as when he was staring into Atsumu’s eyes.
He took out his phone and starting typing a number he knew by heart.
He put the phone up to his ear and waited from 3 rings before a familiar voice picked up.
‘’Hey Kiyoomi !, greeted Komori with a cheerful voice, it’s rare for you to call me first. What’s up ?’’
Kiyoomi let out a sigh before he responded.
‘’I think I’m in love with Atsumu.’’ The other line went dead.
‘’The team was harassing us to do the 36 questions thingy and- and I gave in and we did them and then we had to stare at eachother. And I almost kissed him, he continued.
-You almost kissed him ?, finally answered his cousin.
-Yes.’’
He could feel his cousin think from the other end of the call.
‘’What’s that 36 questions thingy exactly ?
-It’s from an American article or something, they’re 36 questions you ask someone and then you stare at them for 4 minutes and that’s supposed to make you fall in love. And I think it worked.’’
A low hum could be heard from Komori’s side.
‘’Why do you think that ?
-Because- when we were doing them I was feeling so weird, my heart was racing and then he put his hand on mine and I liked it.’’ Komori muttered a small ‘wow’ ‘’And I was so open with him and I think I told him way too much about my life. I don’t know, it felt right to do so.’’
He could still hear Komori working through all the new information Kiyoomi had just given him.
‘’Alright Kiyo I’m gonna tell you something, but you have to promise to keep an open mind.’’
He raised an eyebrow curiously.
‘’I can’t promise you that.’’
He heard the other sigh.
‘’I think you might have been in love with Atsumu before all of that.’’
He froze in place.
Atsumu practically ran out of Kiyoomi’s appartement complex, his heart racing just as quickly as his thoughts around his head. It almost made him dizzy.
He didn’t know what to think of anything that had happened.
There was no way that- maybe he didn’t see interpret his behavior correctly but- had Sakusa Kiyoomi tried to kiss him ??? There’s was no way that was what had happened !!
He kept running until he was out of breath and his legs hurt. He groaned to the sky and he collapsed on a bench nearby, panting tirelessly.
Everything had happened so fast, he didn’t know what to make of anything.
He took out his phone and dialed Osamu’s number, praying to whatever god was out there that his evil twin would answer him. And for once the universe was on his side.
‘’What do ya want ?’’ Charmin’.
‘’Ya know how I went to Omi’s place today and stuff ?
-Oh yeah, to do that question shtick Shokkun wanted ya two to do ?, he asked.
-Yeah, the other answered, and wanna know how it ended ? He almost kissed me.’’
Atsumu could hear his twin stop doing whatever it was he was doing while listening to him.
‘’We still talkin’ ‘bout Sakusa here ?
-YES !!, he screamed into his phone. I-I dunno what to think now ‘cause- I thought I hated the guy and I thought he hated me but he was real’ sweet to me today. Like- at some point I broke some glass and-
-Classic ‘Tsumu.
-SHUT UP. So, I broke the glass and I wanted to pick it up but he said somethin’ like I would hurt m’self and he knows how much I take care of my hands and- AND HE ALMOST KISSED ME ‘SAMU ! DO YOU REALIZE HOW BIG OF A DEAL THAT IS !?’’
Osamu groaned from the other end.
‘’Not really, I mean yes kinda but also no. Sure it’s surprisin’ ‘cause it’s Sakusa-san and stuff, but if he likes ya then ya should go for it. Stop overthinkin’ everythin’ ‘Tsumu, maybe for once a decent guy is interested in ya instead of a dickhead, ya should treasure that.
-Omi-kun is a dickhead.
-Doesn’t sound like it.’’
He blew raspberry into his mic, which made the other flinch.
‘’ ‘Tsumu that’s gross.
-Yer gross, but thanks for the advice.
-Anytime.’’
He hung up and sighed longly. He sprawled himself on the bench and stared mindlessly at the sky, it was starting to darken with the setting sun. He stayed still for a couple seconds before dialing another number, much more hesitantly this time. But much to his surprise, the other actually picked up only after a few rings.
‘’Hey Atsumu, started Kita with a smile in his voice, how are ya doin’ ?
-‘M having a crisis, that’s why I called ya.’’
He heard his friend chuckle.
‘’Well okay, why me and not Aran-kun ? Aren’t ya guys closer ?
-It’s somethin’ only ya can help with.’’
Kita dropped the joyful tone, he sounded a bit worried now.
‘’ ‘S everythin’ okay ?
-Yeah, ‘m not hurt or anythin’, it’s about somethin’ else.’’
He took a deep breath.
‘’So y’know how were kinda opposites ? Like I’m very impulsive and ya have yer routine and all ?
-Yes.
-Do ya think we could’ve worked as a couple ?’’
A moment of silence followed his question.
‘’Are ya askin’ me out ?, Kita starts, ‘cause if that’s the case I’m sorry but-
-No ! ‘M not askin’ ya out ! But there’s this guy I like, and he kinda reminds me of ya. But meaner. So ‘m askin’ ya if ya think we could work as a couple. ‘Cause I don’t wanna ask him out just for him to dump me after he realizes ‘m too much work.
-Atsumu, I don’t think yer too much work. And if this person likes ya, ‘nd ya like this person, I don’t see why you two wouldn’t work.’’
He sighed.
‘’Yer right, thanks Kita-san.
-Yer welcome.
-Also could ya not tell anyone else I called ya ? ‘M still figuring things out.’’
Another chuckle escaped Kita’s side of the call.
‘’No problem. I would love to stay and chitchat but I have work I gotta get back to, talk to ya later.
-Bye Kita-san.’’
And with that, he continued staring at the sky as the first few stars started shining through.