Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Why aren't you sitting with them?" Daichi asked.

"Lev and Kenma are sitting with Hinata. I think they're fine." Yaku slipped rice into his mouth. "Sometimes I get tired of being with the same people all the time."

Kuroo slid into the seat next to Yaku. "Oh? Do you ever get sick of me?"

Yaku scooted away, just a little bit. "No."

Kuroo laughed instead of getting offended. "Just don't get sick of Daichi and Suga."

"That's probably impossible. They're pleasant."

"We are?" Suga asked.

"Like a breeze."

"Like a breath of fresh air?"

"Like a breeze, Kuroo." Yaku penalized Kuroo by taking food from his plate.

He heard a grunt of pain, and when he glanced up, he saw Suga repeatedly jabbing Daichi with his elbow. Daichi's mouth and forehead were wrinkled with irritation, and his shoulders rolled with the momentum of being jabbed. Suga stopped to lean over and whisper.

Kuroo leaned onto the table as well, propping his elbows around his plate and angling his head to listen.

"What are you two talking about?"

Yaku happened to notice that this was an ideal position for Kuroo's arms to shield his food. It could have been coincidence, but knowing Kuroo, it wasn't.

"Nothing," Daichi said. He shifted to hunch over his meal, pointedly edging away from Suga.

Kuroo returned to his straightened height. "I feel terrible that you two keep losing matches. You're getting better, though."

"Thanks," Daichi said with hollow gratitude.

"Kuroo, why do you always say the wrong thing?" Yaku swallowed a gulp of water and pushed it back behind his food. Yaku was trying to dodge around the fact that Kuroo hit a sore point with Tsukishima the other day, trying to use that fact as a point without actually saying it, but no one seemed to get the hint.

"Kuroo isn't mean. Not even accidentally," Suga said.

Kuroo waved his hand. "Yaku likes to nitpick. I would get annoyed, but it's probably why he's such a great libero."

"Don't throw in a compliment." Yaku dug his chopsticks through his rice, carving out a hole and then messing it up by piling food back into it. After years of being on the same team as Kuroo, Yaku became desensitized to his antics. He didn't preen at Kuroo's praise the way he did at stranger's, or someone from another team. Someone like Suga or Daichi.

"Nishinoya would probably love to join this conversation," Suga said.

"Does he just jump into anything that has to do with receives and liberos?"

"Sometimes," Suga said.

Yaku tilted his chin at Daichi. "What about you? You're great at receives, too."

"I'm not like Nishinoya."

"Still." Yaku paused to spin one chopstick between his fingers, looking at it instead of Daichi. 

"Aside from your libero, you're better than the rest of your team at receives." 

Kuroo coughed. "You just insulted Suga," he muttered in a breath.

Daichi fell silent. Yaku didn't think anything of it as he eyed Kuroo, but when he redirected his gaze in front of him, he saw Daichi's mouth open and close. Instead of saying anything, Daichi readjusted himself in his seat, raising his shoulders and dropping them.

From that, Yaku got the feeling that Daichi was probably bad at handling praise. Yaku's eyes flitted over Daichi, interested in Daichi's quiet response, the twitch of his mouth and steely glimmer of his eyes fixed on Kuroo. It wasn't the embarrassed reaction of someone shy, but a silent simmer, tension set in his shoulders. 

Yaku glanced at Kuroo. "You're probably better than Kuroo," he said, spurred by Daichi's attention on Kuroo.

Kuroo burst out laughing. "Where did that come from?"

Yaku shrugged. Annoying Kuroo and flustering Daichi at the same time was satisfying, even if neither of them showed it. Imagining it was enough.

Aside from team practice matches, Yaku bumped into Daichi several times. At meals, practice breaks, or in separate impromptu practices, Yaku became more aware of Daichi's presence. It wasn't a lie; Daichi really was great at defense. Yaku noticed the easy shift of Daichi's legs and arms as he placed himself in the ball's path, steady and reliable movements that Yaku had to admire as a libero. 

Small practices didn't really need positions like libero, so Yaku wasn't asked to them that often. Instead he dragged Lev into receive practice, clearing a small section of the gym to throw volleyballs at him.

Lev complained and whined. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but Lev crawled to the floor with dramatic motions when Yaku let him rest from practice. Yaku wished he could also pull Kuroo into this, but Kuroo was out practicing with Bokuto and Tsukishima. Yaku met Lev's complaints without remorse.

"Come on, lev, this isn't killing you."

Lev lifted his head. "I want to block and spike with Kuroo."

Yaku really didn't feel any remorse. He couldn't spike or block, he could only receive, and he enjoyed receiving so much that he got frustrated at Lev's lack of enthusiasm.

"Need help?" Daichi asked.

Yaku stiffened in surprise and swiveled his head. "Oh, hey Daichi." He pressed his foot more against Lev to convince him to get up. "I'm not doing much, just trying to help Lev practice."

Lev shook his head. "Save me."

Daichi glanced at Lev, his eyes shining with laughter. Yaku felt a twinge of something that manifested into shaking Lev again.

"Here, grab my hand. I'll help you up."

Lev yanked on his wrist too hard, and Yaku followed, crashing on the floor with a pained yelp. Yaku rammed his elbow into Lev's arm.

"Was that on purpose."

"No. Accident." Lev got to his feet.

Yaku still thought it was intentional. He dusted his shorts off when he stood up, and he felt self-conscious about the fall in front of Daichi. This sort of thing usually prompted a joke about his height, or at the very least it reminded people of it.

"We don't need help. We're fine," Yaku said.

Daichi looked them both over. Lev was rubbing at his elbow, frowning and puffing a cheek in thought.

"Can I still join, then? A bunch of spikers are practicing together, and the setters are in their own group too, so I felt like doing some practice of my own."

Yaku shrugged. "If you want. It might make Lev happy to have someone else."

Yaku was right. Lev brightened at the prospect of a new person to talk with, and Daichi was amicable with both of them.

He still wanted to snap at Lev. Daichi was too nice to tell someone he barely knew that they were annoying, but Yaku thought Lev was bothering him. Yaku smiled hard and sent Lev a harsh look to discourage him.

After a while, all three of them grew tired. Daichi lifted his shirt to wipe sweat off his neck and forehead, and Yaku's curiosity compelled him to look. Yaku didn't realize he took his time, and when both Lev and Daichi fell silent, Yaku found them staring back.

Yaku clapped Lev on the arm, ignoring that he was too tired to reach for his shoulder. "Well, good job today, Lev," he said in a hurry.

Yaku's voice didn't hold the sentiment he wanted, falling to a false tone that made Lev wrinkle his nose in confusion.

Yaku nodded at Daichi, and when Daichi left, Yaku span to Lev. "Don't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?"

"What you saw." Yaku flapped a hand at the ground where Daichi stood.

Lev tilted his chin. "No more receive practice, then."

"Kuroo will make you do it himself, then."

"...Alright sorry Yaku, I'll practice with you! I'll forget what I already forgot and I won't tell anyone what happened."

Yaku dragged his hand across his face.

Yaku rested his arm over his head, the crook of his elbow aligning with the top of his head. Daichi had nice fluid movements to his receives, but Yaku was now mindful of other details, such as the twitch of muscle in his legs when he took a step, or the shape of his shoulders and stomach filling out his shirt. Yaku hated it. It was the same as everybody else, and Yaku hated that it felt completely different looking at Daichi and looking at someone else with a stomach and shoulders 

Yaku returned to stretching. He extended his foot on the floor and reached for it, pointedly looking at the equipment cart in the distance. Their first practice match was against Fukurodani, so Yaku became energized from it and distracted himself, but after the match he saw Daichi bent over to catch his breath from a penalty run, hands on his knees. Yaku's stomach settled at the sight.

Kuroo walked past, a frustratingly sly quirk to his mouth as he glanced at Yaku. 

"Quite the eye you have there."

Yaku bristled. "Excuse me?"

Kuroo patted his head and moved on. Yaku ran his hands over his hair to erase the lingering sensation.

After Karasuno recovered from the run, Yaku saw Daichi walk in his direction. Everyone was on a break, heading out to eat lunch, but Daichi made his way to Yaku first.

"Can I sit with you again?" Daichi asked.

Yaku worked his mouth to the side. "That's fine," he said, his voice muffled from pushing his mouth to the side.

In the cafeteria, Daichi took his place next to Yaku, shoulder to shoulder. Yaku gave his food a silent inspection, brimming with an uneasy warm twist in his stomach.

"Yaku, your food isn't going to move on its own," Kuroo said.

"…Shut up." Yaku took a small bite to occupy himself.

Daichi's voice carried through with a deep satisfying thrum to it as lunch passed, especially when he laughed, arms shaking and brushing Yaku's. Yaku inched a bit closer, pressing their arms together as slowly subtly as possible. Yaku didn't see Daichi react, so he kept himself there quietly.

Daichi finished his dinner and cleared his plate, and when he left, Yaku relaxed and resumed eating.

Suga waved his chopsticks around in the air. "You know, I think Daichi would love to talk to you," Suga said to Yaku.

"Why?"

"Just a feeling." Suga's hand fell to tap the chopsticks against his chin. Yaku didn't like the expression on Suga's face, mirroring the knowing sentiment in Kuroo.

"I think I'm done here." Yaku stood up and cleared his plate too.

Yaku took a shower and changed into pajamas for the night. He was prepared to go to sleep, eyes drooping and legs sluggish, and he climbed into bed with a tired sigh.

In the morning, Yaku still felt a veil of grogginess as he shuffled his feet to the bathroom. Jumping out of bed didn't completely wake him up, and movement didn't, either. Yaku blinked against the lights as he drifted down the hallway. After brushing his teeth, he got dressed in practice clothes and trudged to the cafeteria, all in the span of ten minutes.

"Yaku?"

Yaku recognized Daichi's voice when he sat down, but he only acknowledged it with a grunt. He lowered his chin onto his arm, wrapping his other arm around his face as he pushed the plate of food away. He slid his chin down to squash his face into his arm.

"Yaku… You're on my arm," Daichi said.

Yaku felt the sides of his head rush with mortifying heat. He sat up straight, his hand on his mouth.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I thought it was…mine."

Suga choked on his drink, and Kuroo snorted until it grew into actual laughter. When Suga cleared his throat, he joined in.

"It's not that funny," Yaku snapped. He wiped over his mouth with the back of his hand to pretend that he didn't like where his mouth had been. Yaku's mouth twisted afterward, still embarrassed that he automatically pressed his mouth and face onto Daichi's arm.

Daichi was silent. Yaku saw him tuck his arm to his side, and he pressed his lips together in thought.

Yaku stared down at his food, also choosing to remain quiet. He finished most of his plate, and he slinked away when he thought the three of them were occupied enough. Yaku dumped his plate and left.

He started warming up in the gym, sitting on the floor and stretching his arms while he waited for others to arrive for practice. Some people did trickle in early, such as Kageyama, Akaashi, and Bokuto, but Yaku wanted everyone here for practice to begin.

At the sound of footsteps leading up to him, Yaku glanced around on the floor. A familiar pair of shoes appeared, and Yaku turned his head up more to see Daichi staring back at him. This angle was very steep, and Yaku felt his stomach churn at the looking at him from a new view.

"Suga and Kuroo kept giving me strange advice at breakfast after you left," Daichi said. He folded his legs underneath himself to sit down next to Yaku.

"Unless it's volleyball, don't listen to Kuroo." Yaku leaned forward to touch his toes, bending away from Daichi.

Daichi also bent forward, aligning with Yaku. "I know that by now."

That reminded Yaku of how long Kuroo and Daichi have known each other. There was a natural friendship between them. Even though Yaku technically knew Daichi just as long as Kuroo, Yaku didn't know Daichi as well as Kuroo did.

Yaku tilted his head just a little bit, his eyes falling on Daichi's arms and legs, the way his back bent, and how his stomach curled over his thighs. When Yaku's eyes trailed back up, he found Daichi's head turned to him. Yaku stiffened at the silence hanging between them. An unhelpful noise came from Yaku's throat.

Daichi glanced down. "Is there something on me?"

"No, nothing."

"Then why are you looking at me?"

Yaku set his mouth in a tight line, dipping his head down to obscure his eyes. "Why are you looking at me?"

Daichi leaned closer, bumping their shoulder together. Yaku's eyes flitted up, but he didn't turn his head up.

"Is it safe to say that…"

Yaku's shoulders rose at the sensation of Daichi's warm breath falling over him. Daichi's voice drifted off, and the sound of shifting and the closer breath told Yaku that Daichi's head was now hovering over his.

"Safe to say what?"

"That you, you're…" Daichi's voice fell to a whisper. "That you're interested…"

He was slowly ducking down to meet Yaku's eyes, and instead of finishing, Daichi's head came closer. Yaku suddenly felt like his lips were too dry, but the distance between them was shortening, and he didn't want to lick his lips to wet them.

Daichi nudged his mouth against Yaku's, very gently and tentatively. Daichi's lips were soft, and he pressed them in a little messily but Yaku didn't care. He scooted closer, both of them fully facing each other now. Yaku tried to keep his mouth still, but he straightened to a better height, and it made him slide his mouth over Daichi's top lip. He flattened his hands on Daichi's chest to steady himself. Yaku tried to suck in a breath, but when it resulted in pulling Daichi's lip into his mouth, Yaku moved his head back.

"I didn't mean to, I just." Yaku fumbled through his words and glanced up and down. He noticed that he was sitting in Daichi's lap, and then he really moved away.

Daichi rolled his shoulder and coughed into it. He scratched at his neck. "That was my fault, but…"

The both of them turned away.