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“Ooh, look at him, Iwa-chan!” Tooru said, not so subtly pointing at a man with broad shoulders across the open square.
“You’re disgusting.” He rolled his eyes, refusing to even look the direction Tooru pointed.
“Just because you’re into skinny guys and petite girls doesn’t mean you get to judge me, Iwa-chan, that’s rude.”
Iwaizumi blushed, as he usually did when Tooru brought up anything about his taste in people. No wonder he’s single, he thought for the hundredth time.
“I’ll judge you how I want.” He grumbled and crossed his arms.
Tooru looked over at the man again. Those were truly magnificent shoulders, and his t-shirt was a little too tight, it tapered to his waist. He probably has washboard abs, Tooru thought longingly.
Iwaizumi hit him in the back of the head with the palm of his hand. “Stop staring, idiot. If you want to talk to him just do it.”
Tooru sighed dramatically and slumped his shoulders. It would be nice if he didn’t have to do the pursuing all the time, why couldn’t attractive people approach him instead?
"You're the worst wingman in history."
"That's probably because I'm not your wingman."
"I'm never going to help you find a date, ever again!" Tooru whined, and marched off towards the godly shoulders.
He steeled himself for rejection. It wasn't something that happened all that often, more with men than with women, and he'd been threatened physical violence a few times, but what's the worst that could happen? Well, he didn't want to think about the worst, he wanted to focus on the best, which would be scratching lines down those shoulder blades with his fingernails later that night.
The man was crossing his arms, talking to another guy, shorter than him with a strangely stylish haircut. Tooru couldn't hear his voice and he wondered if it was deep, the type of voice that would rumble in his chest.
He tapped the man on his gorgeous, well proportioned shoulder and cleared his throat.
"Excuse me--" He began and the man turned. Oikawa's hand dropped along with his jaw.
"Oikawa." The man greeted him, no inflection, but his voice was deep, it was just a shame about who he was.
"Ushiwaka."
Tooru glared at him with as much force as he could muster to hide his embarrassment. It only been a few months since they'd seen each other, surely he hadn't just gotten good looking?
They stood in silence for a few seconds, Ushijima looking down on him with an expression that could be confusion or disdain.
"Did you... need something from me?" Ushijima asked and Tooru shrugged.
"Not really." He said flippantly.
"Then... why did you approach me?" It was definitely confusion now, and Tooru supposed it wasn't his fault that his face just looked like that. It made Tooru want to hit him.
"Who said I approached you, Ushiwaka? How self centered are you?"
"But--"
"I have to go, have a good day." Tooru said, spinning quickly around. He half-sprinted back to Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi was laughing so hard he was hardly standing upright and couldn't catch his breath. Tooru slapped him on the back.
"Stop laughing at me right now! This isn't funny! We're never going to talk about this again. Never! Do you hear me, Iwa-chan, never!"
Two weeks passed and Tooru saw Ushijima no less than fifteen times. He wasn't sure if somehow his eyes were searching for him in a way that they hadn't since their last volleyball tournament together, or if Ushijima was following him. He was probably following him.
They didn't speak to each other, though there was an awkward time when Ushijima held a door for him and Tooru felt obligated to say thank you. He had, though it was so quiet he wasn't sure Ushijima heard him.
It was late morning on a day when Tooru only had afternoon classes, and he sat in the dining hall in his pajamas with his laptop in front of him, munching on cereal when Ushijima approached him.
"Excuse me."
Tooru looked up and had the immediate urge to flatten his hair which he knew was sticking up at weird angles.
"What?" He asked, pushing his cereal away as if it had offended him.
"I have something I would like to say to you." He was still standing stiff beside the table. His hands hung at his sides but he was staring at Tooru with a strange intensity that made him want to scream, or maybe run away.
"I don't want to talk to you, you're ruining my breakfast." Tooru crossed his arms.
"It's almost lunch time."
"My breakfast, not yours, Ushiwaka, stop bothering me."
"I have something I need to say."
Tooru noticed that the wording changed, even if his tone did not. "Oh, you need to? Do you need me?" He mocked.
Ushijima's face contorted, his eyebrows furrowing, and he stuck his hands in his pockets. He looked strange, different than Tooru normally saw him, almost nervous, which was ridiculous. Ushijima had no manners, if you had no manners there's no reason to be nervous.
"Would you like to... have dinner with me?" Ushijima asked.
Tooru stood up and shut his laptop with a scoff. He abandoned his cereal and walked away.
"Wait!" Ushijima called but Tooru kept walking. What sort of ridiculous nonsense was he saying now? Was he mocking him, playing Tooru's own game against him? Well, whatever his game was it wasn't going to work, Tooru had no intention of losing to Ushijima ever again.
A large hand grabbed his free arm and spun him around.
"Ouch, what are you doing?!"
"You didn't answer."
"That's because your question was ridiculous."
"What was ridiculous about it?"
Tooru sputtered, not having the words to describe exactly how ridiculous it was, it sounded like Ushijima had asked him out, for one, as if that wasn't ridiculous enough.
"It's just ridiculous. Let me go."
"Answer me first. Please." His hand was still on Tooru's elbow but the grip loosened slightly.
"Why should I answer a joke?"
Ushijima seemed frustrated now, and he let go of Tooru completely to rub his face with both hands. Tooru watched him, still curious enough about what Ushijima was really trying to say.
Ushijima dropped his hands and stared for a split second before moving. Both his hands went to Tooru's shoulders and he pulled him close, pressing a kiss to his lips. It was over almost as quick as it began, and Tooru saw a flush on Ushijima's cheeks that was most likely mirrored in his own.
"I was not joking." Ushijima said, his voice not quite as smooth as it had been before.
Tooru nodded shakily and took a half step back. He was afraid he'd step closer if he didn't escape the subtle smell of Ushijima's cologne that now felt like it was on his skin as well.
"Ah, alright then, fine." He agreed, and turned to leave again.
"I will meet you at seven!" He heard Ushijima call, and he couldn't control his small smile.
His single class of the day went normally, or as normally as it could when he spent the entire period contemplating an outfit. He was still confused, incredibly confused, but he at least believed Ushijima had been serious about his question. It was just that he'd finally fallen for Tooru's charms, it was inevitable, after all, he shouldn't have really been surprised. If he could get Ushijima to buy him a meal and maybe take him dancing that would make it worth it. He tried not to think about how much he wanted to try kissing him again, because that should be ridiculous, he didn't want to kiss Ushiwaka.
He really, really wanted to kiss Ushiwaka.
He called Iwaizumi as he walked back to his dorm, more for an ear to listen than for advice.
"Iwa-chan I need your help." He whined into his phone.
"I was busy, you know."
"You're never too busy for me, this is important!"
Iwaizumi just groaned and Tooru continued.
"I have a date, what should i wear?"
"You insult my fashion sense every single day, idiot, why are you asking me this?"
He had a point. "Well you know what clothes I have, and they are much more fashionable than clothes you have, you couldn't screw it up that badly. Just tell me!"
"Do you actually want advice or did you just want to brag?"
"I'm not bragging! I don't brag, Iwa-chan! I only tell the truth, completely unbiased."
Iwaizumi groaned a little again and Tooru laughed, it was a comforting sound to hear.
"Who's your date with then? That girl from Psych who keeps looking at you?"
"Oh no, Kyo-chan hasn't approached me yet, I'll give her a week, this is.. um someone else." He knew he sounded suspicious, but how was he supposed to admit that he agreed to go on a date with Ushijima?
"You don't want to tell me? You're the one who called me."
"Yeah but you're never curious about anything! You never sound like you want to hear anything I tell you!"
"If you can tell that, why do you tell me things, if you think I don't care?"
"Because you should care."
"Well, I care now. Who is your date with."
God damn it. He coughed into his phone and then attempted to badly garble his voice. “Sor---, Iw--an, can---- hear yo--” He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket.
It was just after five. He had very limited time to get ready and clearly Iwa-chan was going to be no help at all.
He crossed his arms and fidgeted as he stood in front of the dining hall. Technically it wasn’t seven yet, he was early, but it was cold, and Ushijima should have been enough of a gentleman to get there early so as to not make him wait. He should have worn a jacket.
He was too busy rubbing his hands over his upper arms and shivering to notice when Ushijima walked up until he cleared his throat.
“You actually came.” He said it like a statement, not a question, or a statement of awe, and Tooru didn’t know how to respond except to shrug. “I am…. glad.” He finished.
Tooru let the words sink in for just a second before he shivered again. “Where are you taking me? It’s cold out here.”
“It is not even winter yet.”
“Does that mean I’m now allowed to be cold? You’re so bossy!”
Ushijima didn’t respond except to lightly grab Tooru’s arm and tug him along in the direction of off-campus shops and restaurants.
They walked in silence, Ushijima’s hand warm on Tooru’s arm the entire time, and Tooru wondered just how it was that Ushijima could be warm in his weather. He was tempted to move closer, to let their shoulders brush against each other, but he stopped himself.
The place they went was small, hardly more than a hole in the wall that served casual food and Tooru laughed at the sight of it.
“This is where you’re taking me? I thought you’d be classier.”
Ushijima just nodded a little and cleared his throat before pulling open the door. It was darker inside, the front windows shaded with slatted blinds and half of the four tables were empty. I woman stood behind the counter and a menu full of pictures was on the wall behind her.
They ordered their food and took a seat. Tooru felt cramped, crossing his legs over each other and he could only imagine how uncomfortable Ushijima must have been. The food was delivered to the table and Ushijima began to eat without hesitation.
“Are you really that hungry?” Tooru asked, taking a piece of his meal in his chopsticks. Ushijima looked up as if he’d forgotten Tooru was there and then narrowed his eyes.
“Restaurants are for eating.” He said.
Tooru took a bite of his food and nodded. “Okay, if you say so.”
Ushijima put down his chopsticks and wiped his hands on a napkin.
“Did I do something wrong?” He asked. He looked so sincere, it was annoying.
“What? No. Why would you ask that? That’s weird.” Tooru looked away, he could see the street through the darkened windows, but there was no traffic, nothing to distract him from the earnest way Ushijima was watching him with his hands folded on the table.
“Look,” Tooru began, turning back to face Ushijima. “I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to, just stop being weird about it okay?” He took another bite, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.
“You never listened before.”
“What?”
“In high school.”
“Let me repeat this a little more enthusiastically, what?”
Ushijima looked faintly annoyed, but he continued. “When I asked you to be my setter, repeatedly, you never listened.”
“That was high school.” Tooru dismissed, waving his hand, before taking another bite.
“Yes, but why is it different?”
Really? He seemed intent on airing out years of Tooru’s grievances despite the fact that they were supposed to be enjoying a meal together. Tooru sighed. “It’s just different. People grow up, I’m not the same person I was in high school. You probably aren’t either, right, Ushiwaka?”
He nodded and Tooru took that as a sign that he could continue to eat. They finished their meal, mostly in silence, with the occasional piece of small talk. It was more comfortable than Tooru thought it would have been.
They walked back towards campus, not touching this time, and the streetlights glowed orange overhead. Tooru had been thinking, almost constantly, about the strange fact that Ushijima had kissed him yesterday. It was something he kept forgetting, and when he remembered, usually only seconds later, it shocked him again, how could he have forgotten something that weird?
They were within sight of the dining hall, and soon would part ways for their separate apartments. Tooru needed to know.
“Why did you kiss me?” He asked. He stopped walking and Ushijima stopped and turned towards him.
“Because I wanted to.”
“That’s a weird response! Why would you want to? I hated you, I really did.”
Ushijima shook his head. “We were rivals, you didn’t hate me. And you were the one who said we aren’t in high school anymore.”
He’s got me there, Tooru thought and shook his head a little. “Okay, fine. I still don’t know why you did it though---”
“Should I show you again?” Ushijima took a step forward, closing the gap between them. Tooru didn’t know how to respond, only that he wanted to rest his hands on Ushijima’s shoulders and pull their bodies together.
“I’m a fast learner.” Tooru replied, and kissed him. It wasn’t as quick as the first time, and both of them were prepared for it. Tooru couldn’t stop his hands from going to Ushijima’s shoulders, and he shivered when Ushijima’s own held his waist.
When Ushijima pulled away, just a centimeter or so, Tooru was embarrassed at the frustrated whimper that came from his lips.
“We should… try that again.” Ushijima said, and Tooru nodded a bit too eagerly. “Good.” They kissed again.
Tooru went home that night with slightly tingling lips and the strong memory of Ushijima’s muscles under his hands. He locked the door behind him and punched in Iwaizumi’s number into his phone without thinking.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing, Iwa-chan? I hope I wasn’t interrupting.” He could hear the TV in the background and was almost certain he was watching it like he normally did in the evenings.
“Watching TV, what do you want? Because you are interrupting.”
“I think I’m dating Ushiwaka.” Tooru heard when Iwaizumi’s phone hit the floor and then the raucous laughter that followed.