Chapter Text
Kei never stressed over the little things; he never stressed about if his hair was messy, he never stressed over his penmanship too much, he doesn't even so much as try to correct servers when he gets the wrong order. He knew ever since that time he found out about his brother's secret that not everything that happened depended on solely himself. There were things he wouldn't be able to control, and that should be fine.
But this time, though, Kei was just so sure that he had thrown his favourite jacket into the washing machine for a quick cleaning, so when his mother had unloaded the washer and had hung their clothes up to dry, the lone purple hoodie that he had had since he was a kid had gone missing. Surely, it wasn't something so big to get all worked up for, but he was so sure that- -
It was the doorbell. Someone was at the door- - he almost forgot that he had friends coming over, and he was still standing in the backyard, eyeing the empty laundry basket, watching the clothes and blankets and towels flutter slightly in the wind. He was there, in their backyard, playing detective when his friends had all come over to work on the volleyball team's training camp timetable and regimen that they'll give out to their teammates.
And as Vice Captain, he had the responsibility to make sure their team is in tip-top shape- - that, and that he was sure he'll get a scolding from Yamaguchi and Yachi, and not to mention the exasperated looks his boyfriend would no doubt send his way.
Speaking of, today was also the first time Tobio, his boyfriend would be coming to his house ever since Kei had introduced him to his family as such. Even as he folded his blankets and shirts, -- to be put away later -- he let his mind wander back to two weeks ago, when he had the gotten into an argument with him over who should take the role of Vice Captain - - Yamaguchi, apparently, woke up, and chose violence that morning, when he decided to drop the topic in front of them.
Of course, their Setter had been adamant on pushing the position over to Kei, who did not, in fact, like bossing people around.
And like a bunch of gossiping aunties, the other three of their little friend group sat back and watched the two of them debate back and forth, as if they were watching a tennis match.
(When Kei had just said and pointed that out, Tobio scoffed at him, and asked why he couldn't have used their sport as an example, which only gave Kei the upper hand to shove the position to him, but in the end, Yamaguchi admitted that he only wanted to see just how much the two of them loved the sport and their team, and that he had already decided on Kei since the very beginning.)
(The argument was merely a logical ruse to see if Tobio would have had no quarrels if Kei had been appointed as Vice Captain.)
Without much preamble -- really? Not even his own mother heard all the noise his friends were making? -- Kei put his small stack of clothes and blankets beside his laundry basket, all of which he would bring back to his room later after his friends had gone home, and answered the door.
"Finally!" The three in front chorused. "I wasn't sure if we'd be able to stop Shoyo from breaking into a window just so he could let us in." Yamaguchi said, taking off his shoes as he talked. Hinata and Yachi were already picking out some slippers for themselves when his boyfriend walked in carrying a paper bag that he held in front of his chest.
It was big, and looked like a box, but he couldn't be too sure, what with Tobio swerving around Kei, not giving him a chance to peek inside the bag.
"Is that for me?" He tried to coax his boyfriend into telling him--even just a hint--about what he was holding onto so tightly against his chest. Tobio, though, looked sheepish. He shook his head no before running off into the kitchen- - probably for snacks, then? Of course, Kei wasn't allowed the freedom to think any further of it when Hinata was practically jumping on the walls in his excitement.
Yamaguchi and Yachi had to flank his sides, and walk in a row into the living room, where Kei had left his open books and notebooks. Kei had been forced to agree to hold their weekend study group at his house when Yamaguchi had dialled his phone home, and gave the phone to Hinata, who asked Kei's mum if they could come over. Of course, his mother had agreed, and was more than enthusiastic to have them over.
It was a good thing Kei's older brother was back in the city for work, otherwise, no one'll get any work done.
He noticed their bags, though.
"Did you bring all your books with you, or is your bag a little too big for an afternoon study group?" He commented, when Yachi placed her bag behind the couch. She gave him a small smile.
"It's an overnight bag," she told him, not looking away. As if challenging him to correct her. "We're staying over for the night," she said, slowly, as one would to explain complex topics with children. Kei understood that much. But why did she have an overnight bag, now that he didn't understand.
Neither of them look away, only breaking eye contact when Yamaguchi leads Kei to the couch, waving his own physics notebook in front of his face. Still, Yachi shouldn't have looked triumphant then-- she didn’t win the argument- - there wasn't even any argument between them!
"Lunch is ready!" Kei's mum chirped from the kitchen. She walked into the living room to wave them over. "Tobio-kun brought us dessert," she told Kei as he passed by her. She gave him a teasing smile that never left her face, only growing wider when Kei took the seat beside Tobio, pushing Hinata out of the way. The shorter squawks indignantly, but sits on the other side of Kei's mum, who only consoled him by offering to scoop rice into his bowl first.
Of course, he jumped on the offer, and took the others' bowls to line up after Hinata's. He glanced at his boyfriend, who looked down his lap.
Maybe he was shy? Maybe he's not ready to tell his friends that they were dating? Maybe he was afraid of Kei's mum outing them by accident?
Kei had a thousand and one questions running in his mind, and the succinct sweetness of the strawberry shortcake that Tobio brought shouldn't be the only one that overcame him for the rest of the day.
The evening was filled with snacks and different kinds of candy and chips that his friends brought, and chocolate popcorn that Kei's mum made for them when they finally decided on which movie to watch-- she joined them briefly, for the first ten minutes of the movie, before excusing herself to watch a drama she was following in her room. Their study group proved to be effective, if not substantial at least, despite Kei's mum's occasional visits to drop off snacks and drinks. It was a success, altogether, and Kei breathed a sigh of relief that the two idiots' homework were at least half-done--Kei only got off their case when Yachi had made the two promise to finish it after breakfast tomorrow, so they can all go home with their homework all done.
After taking a quick shower, they've all turned up at the living room in their sleepwear:
Yachi wore the pyjama set that Kei and the other guys had all chipped in to get her for her birthday; Yamaguchi wore a simple band shirt that Akiteru had given him back in middle school, and soft-looking pyjama pants. Hinata was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, and had one of those sleeping caps on his head, while Tobio had a blanket wrapped around himself like a cocoon. Huh? Even Kei was flaunting his matching flannel pyjama set. Did he forget to bring pyjama bottoms? Was he only wearing shorts, and he felt cold?
Kei averted his eyes before things went--hopefully not-- south, and sat between Tobio and Yachi, who was hugging a Pre-Cure throw pillow.
She was sitting with her knees tucked under her chin, eyes focused on the screen, whereas Kei found himself much more intrigued by Tobio's sudden change of personalities.
"Are you cold?" He asked him, barely above a whisper. He leaned into his personal space, resting his chin on his shoulder as he shook his head no. His neck felt hot to the touch, though, so Kei poked his cheek, which also felt hot. "Are you sick?" He asked, raking his eyes all over the cocooned boy who hid his head under his blanket.
" 'M fine," he heard him mumble, yet refusing to resurface still. Slightly miffed, Kei looks away, if only to convince Tobio to at least show his face-- it wasn't even the scary part of the movie, yet!
He hid a small grin of triumph by grabbing a handful of sour gummy worms from the pack in Yamaguchi's hand, whose eyes were too focused on the TV screen to even swat Kei's hands away. He copied the others in hopes that Tobio thought to "shed his layers".
From his peripherals, he can see the blanket shift, falling ever so slightly off his shoulders to reveal long sleeves.
Huh. What's wrong with what he was wearing? Hinata looked like he was just about to hit the gym, and if he were cold, he could have just asked Kei to turn the thermostat up a bit. He's not so heartless as to let his boyfriend freeze.
Until, the movie shifted to a scene in one of the characters' houses in the morning. The sunlight washing over the small, but homey kitchen seemed to reach out, and fall out of the TV screen. He followed the light bemusedly, letting warm fondness wash over him when he saw Tobio, too, focused on the TV screen, obviously enraptured and curious as to how the story will go--Kei had seen it at the cinema with Akiteru when it came out, and Kei hadn't been able to sleep a wink for three nights straight--grinning ever so slightly as to not give that bit away.
He watched Tobio slowly, tear the blanket off of him, preparing to re-wrap him in his blanket in case he was wearing shorts- - which shouldn't be a problem in any case, but Kei felt an odd sense of- - propriety, and definitely not possessiveness, so the need to cover him up arose.
Okay, that was a lie. He just wanted to cuddle, and Kei was too full of himself to just ask. Although, he's- what?
For the rest of the evening, Kei glowered at Tobio, who laughed every time he caught Kei looking at him, clearly aware that he was wearing the purple jacket that Kei had been looking for all day.