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For as long as he can remember, Suna has never had better friends than the Miya twins. Ever since they are kids, they spent almost every day together – Suna practically living in the Miya’s house. Osamu and Atsumu’s mom would always set the table with an additional plate for every dinner in case Rintarou shows up. From their entrance in middle school to their highschool graduation, the three of them were always together.
Atsumu and Rintarou have always had a special bond. No matter how close Suna was to Osamu, anyone could see that it was still somehow different from what he had with Atsumu – anyone but Atsumu himself.
Osamu, however, surely noticed the difference in Suna’s behavior towards both of them. And of course, he made sure to tease the latter with it.
All the times when Atsumu talks and Osamu finds Suna looking up from his phone, dumbly smiling at whatever his twin is saying, when everyone knows that nothing can make Suna take his eyes off his phone. All the times Suna has shared his food with a whining Atsumu, but would throw death glares to anyone else who would dare to even look at his plate – including Osamu himself. All the times suna would show up tired as fuck to school because he stayed up late sending idiot memes to atsumu because he knows that the blonde likes to start his day by watching funny content – it puts him in a good mood, as he says.
So yeah, as much as Suna denies it, atsumu definitely benefits from a special treatment. he was ‘whipped’, as Osamu would say.
Here’s the thing: Atsumu may have kind of a crush on Rintarou too (he totally does, if you ask Osamu, or anyone else really). But he never said anything. He couldn’t. He didn’t want to take the risk of losing the friendship and dynamic that the three of them have. He would never dare to say it out loud, but Osamu and Rintarou were really Atsumu’s safe place. He could never risk it.
However, Atsumu was scared that the friendship between the three of them would change after their highschool graduation, since they were all choosing different paths. As confident as he may act, Atsumu doesn’t really like change. And that was a lot of change at once: Osamu was leaving for culinary school and Suna was going professional, but in a different team than Atsumu. They would be opponents , that felt weird to say.
He wasn’t too worried about Osamu, the fucker is his twin so he couldn’t get rid of him even if he wanted to. Suna was the one who he was worried about.
“Ya better not get a new best friend Sunarin!” he said jokingly one time, knowing very much that deep down it wasn’t a joke at all.
To this day, he still doesn’t know if Suna was able to read him, or if he was just feeling nice that day, but his reply reassured Atsumu. “I could never,” he had said, his tone being surprisingly serious.
To Atsumu’s greatest surprise, his first year pro did not go how he thought it would at all. In fact, it’s the contrary. For some reason, being away actually brought Suna and him closer – as if it was even possible in the first place.
They would text all the time, as soon as they were out of practice, and they installed a routine of video calling each other at least twice or thrice a week (it’s usually more – almost every night before sleeping). They don’t really have much interesting things to say, so they just tell each other about their days, and as mundane as the topics may be, none of them find their conversations boring in the slightest.
And when they see each other in person – about every 3 weeks – it’s the exact same thing. They’re closer than before, as if trying to make up for all the days they haven’t seen each other. None of them seem to realize how close they appear to anyone else; or if they do, they clearly don’t mind.
If they go to the restaurant, Atsumu will eat some of Suna’s food, and Suna will do the same with Atsumu’s. If they go to the cinema, one of them will lean his head on the other’s shoulder. And it’s the same thing when they’re at home and watching TV on the couch – Atsumu usually being the one leaning on Suna, to the point where they’re cuddling.
Another routine that Atsumu created since he’s away is the video call with his brother every sunday evening. Which means that Osamu was at the receiving end of Atsumu’s rambling speeches, especially on the weekends that the latter spent with Suna.
At first, Osamu wasn’t reacting to anything his brother was saying, “nothing new”, he thought. So he was just listening, wondering how his brother could be so dumb, or if maybe he was deaf at times and couldn't hear himself talking. In any case, Osamu really tried his best to not show his hopeless expression. Up until now, at least. His last straw broke after hearing for the nth time Atsumu telling him how he and Suna cuddled on the other’s couch, and how he felt safe in his best friend’ s arms.
“Okay shut up now, Tsumu.”
“Oi! Wha-”
“When are ya and Suna gonna officially start datin’?”
There was a silence, a long silence. Too long for Osamu, so he continued. “Ya can’t continue with the bullshit and tellin’ me ya don’t love him, Tsumu. It’s been years that yer both two pinin’ idiots.”
There was another silence. Atsumu was still not saying anything and Osamu was scared that he may have crossed a boundary. Then he heard his twin mumbling something, but it was way too quiet for him to actually understand what the other said.
“I didn’t catch that Tsumu, speak louder please.”
“I can’t,” Atsumu replied, in such a soft and vulnerable voice that it took Osamu aback. “I can’t, Samu. Please.”
“Why-”
“I know I love him. Like ya said it’s been years.” He pauses. “I love him so much it’s actually fuckin’ scary, Samu! I don’t wanna lose him. I can’t lose him.”
“What makes ya think ya’ll lose him if ya confess, Tsumu?”
Another pause.
“Nothin’.” He paused, but started speaking again when he saw his brother starting opening his mouth to reply something. “But ya can’t be sure he’ll not reject me, Samu. I’m fine with never confessin’ ta him if it means I can keep him as my best friend. It’ll eventually go away.”
“Tsumu… Listen ta me-”
“No. Ya listen to me Samu. I don’t wanna risk what we have now. Ya can’t be sure he loves me back.”
(Osamu can, actually. He is very much sure, Suna has told him himself. Little does Atsumu know that, every time, after his call with Atsumu ends, Osamu always receives a call from Suna on the weekends they have seen each other. A call in which Suna just talks about how wonderful his weekend with Atsumu has been – Osamu swears he is this close to a mental breakdown.)
What did he do to deserve such a dumb brother and best friend in his life?
Although Osamu knows Atsumu’s feelings are reciprocated, he promised his best friend that he wouldn’t tell Atsumu, that he would let him find the best time to confess himself. “When does the fucker plan on doing this?!” Osamu thought, loudly sighing.
He can clearly see his brother's fear of losing Suna, so he decided to not force the conversation more than he already did. He is sure he won’t be able to convince Atsumu to do anything.
Suna is the last option then, Osamu thought.
By chance, Atsumu never made him promise anything so, technically, he isn’t doing anything wrong. Right?
December 31, New Year’s Eve party.
Atsumu has always loved New Year’s Eve parties, especially because it was one occasion for all his friends to gather. No matter who ended up where after their highschool graduation, they would all come to Atsumu and Osamu's childhood home to celebrate the New Year – their mom being away with friends.
This year was no exception. Osamu’s friends from culinary school, Suna’s team and Atsumu’s team were present, as well as some other friends that they had in common.
As always, Atsumu was looking forward to spending time with Suna. even if he enjoys everyone’s company, he /really/ enjoys being next to Suna when the clock ticks midnight and a new year starts.
However, Suna seems distant tonight and Atsumu doesn’t know why. He’s acting weird, but only in his presence – he seems totally fine with Motoya, Suna’s teammate and Kiyoomi’s cousin, and even everyone else actually. The only person Suna seems uncomfortable with is Atsumu.
Why?
What did I do? Atsumu thought.
Suna seemed to also act quite weirdly around Osamu, but it wasn’t the same thing. Atsumu couldn’t explain it but he felt that it was different. When he saw that Suna was still occupied talking with Motoya, he decided to follow his brother to the kitchen to ask him.
“Oi Samu, what’s wrong with Sunarin tonight?”
His brother hummed, “What do ya mean Tsumu?”
“Don’t tell me ya didn’t realize how weirdly he acts around us.”
“I didn’t.”
Atsumu is sure his brother just lied to his face.
Some time had passed, midnight was approaching and Suna was still acting weird. Atsumu was frankly starting to panic. “What if he got tired of me?” was all he could think about. Atsumu was upset. And when he’s upset, he turns to Suna. But Suna is the reason why he is upset, so he can’t do that now. So he started looking for Osamu – who he couldn’t find.
“Where is that fucker?” he mumbled to himself. When opening the door to their old room, he was struck by the view of his brother and Keiji kissing, both blushing furiously.
“Dammit Tsumu!” his brother yelled before the latter could close the door.
Atsumu left as fast as he arrived. “Finally!” thinking to himself, smiling. He was happy for his brother, the fucker wouldn’t stop talking about Akaashi.
This made him think of Suna. Osamu is right, Atsumu really doesn’t talk about anyone else but him. He is so whipped, he could feel his face heating up. Although he was still very much frustrated about the fact that Suna was clearly avoiding him – it hurt more than he thought it would. So he decided to go outside in the garden in order to get some fresh air. Since he couldn’t really disturb his brother with his thoughts right now.
Still, this was affecting him a lot, he felt as if he could cry. But he won’t . Not tonight, not for the New Year.
He heard the door behind him opening itself but didn’t bother turning around to see who it was – he and Osamu had planned fireworks for when midnight strikes and midnight was approaching so he was expecting people to come out of the house anyway.
“Found you.” He heard coming from behind him. His neck turned so fast that he was surprised it didn’t snap. He could recognize this voice anywhere, Suna was standing here behind him with a small smile – a shy smile even. “Since when is Rin shy?” he thought to himself.
“Oh so now ya’re talking ta me,” was his reply. Not very smart he will admit, but he is really hurt. He really does not know what he did wrong for Suna to avoid him all night.
“I’m sorry,” the other replied, very quietly.
“Why, Rin? Why did ya avoid me all night? Wh-”
“I didn’t avoid you.” The taller man interrupted him.
“Like hell ya didn’t!” He snapped. “Ya avoided me all night, Rin. Don’t lie ta me now. What did I do wrong?”
“What?”
“What did I do wrong for ya ta avoid me Rin? When did I made ya feel uncomfortable? Please tell me and I’ll stop!” He didn’t mean to sound that desperate, but, frankly, he is. And he really doesn’t want to lose Suna.
“Nothing! I swear you did nothing! I've never felt uncomfortable once in your presence, Atsumu. I swear.” Suna replied as fast as he could, himself also sounding desperate.
“Then why, Sunarin? I could see that ya were uncomfortable as soon as I tried ta approach ya this evening.”
“I- Hum-” he got cut by the noise of people coming out of the house.
“Five minutes ‘till midnight! Everyone out guys!” Bokuto yelled.
Atsumu felt Suna’s hand reach his own. “Come with me,” the other man said while pulling him away from the crowd. When they reached the bench at the end of the backyard, Atsumu looked expectantly at Suna. At least one minute passed without any of them talking, so atsumu broke the silence.
“What is it Rin? Ya know ya can tell me anythin’, right?” He spoke softly.
“Yes. Yes I know.” He paused. “Hum- I didn’t avoid you on purpose tonight. I was stressed.”
“Huh? Stressed?”
“Yeah…” he replied, avoiding Atsumu’s gaze.
“Ya gotta enlighten me here, Rin. What are ya stressed about? And why didn’t ya talk ta me about it?! Ya usually do.”
“I couldn’t,” he said, before continuing when he saw the confusion on Atsumu’s face. “ You are the reason why I'm stressed tonight, Atsumu.”
Atsumu appeared even more confused than before. What did he do to make Sunarin stressed to the point of avoiding him on New Year's Eve? He couldn't remember.
“One minute!!” they heard yelling from afar. They don’t know if it’s Bokuto again, or Hinata.
Suddenly, Suna got up off the bench and, for some unknown reason, Atsumu did the same. They were facing each other – a little too close. Atsumu could see Suna fidgeting weirdly in front of him. He was so focused on analyzing the other’s behavior that he almost missed his next words.
“I’m gonna kiss you, Atsumu. Back away if you don’t want it.”
I’m gonna kiss you.
Atsumu was standing still, completely dumbfounded. His thoughts full of what Suna just said, “Huh? Sunarin is gonna what?”
He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he got startled. At the exact same moment, he heard fireworks exploding, and lips crushing on his. Suna’s lips to be precise. He was so shocked that he forgot to reciprocate the kiss.
Suna stepped back, a look of surprise on his face. Atsumu didn’t back away before so he thought it was okay, but Atsumu didn’t reciprocate the kiss. “Why?” he thought, his body feeling very uneasy.
An awkward silence took hold between them, none of the two men dared to break it. Atsumu finally did, after maybe two minutes. As always, he opted for a joke.
“Woah Sunarin, I didn’t take ya for the type of guy to randomly kiss people for the new year!” He said, adding a (very nervous) laugh at the end.
“I’m not,” Suna deadpanned.
Another awkward silence. Suna could read Atsumu’s face very clearly: confusion and lack of understanding were the main elements, and maybe even fear ?
“Out of all the amazing athletes out there, I had to fall for the dumbest one.” The taller man sighed loudly, almost facepalming himself.
“Ya think i’m an amazing athlete?” the blonde smirked. Then Suna looked up to meet his gaze, and he could see the frown on the other man’s face.
“Wait-” Atsumu’s eyes widened at the sudden realization of what the other just said after the athlete part. He felt his face heating up like never before before yelling “Ya fell for me?!”
“Of course I did, dumbass! Do you really think I’d kiss someone I don’t like?!”
“Oi, was the ‘dumbass’ really necessary?” He pouted.
“It really was, yes.” The taller man sighed again.
“Since when?” the blonde asked, way more softly.
“Years, Atsumu. Literal years. ”
“Ya fuckin’ piece of shit! Ya couldn't have told me sooner?!” He yelled again.
Suna snorted at that, “What about you huh? I got fucking Osamu telling me ya liked me and that I should confess!”
“He fuckin’ did what?!” The fucker. “Oh how Samu will pay for this,” Atsumu thought.
“Oh shit- I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Suna chuckled nervously.
Atsumu still didn’t tell him clearly that he liked him back, and Suna still very much remembers how the blonde did not reciprocate his kiss. He frankly is a nervous wreck right now. “Hum… Atsu?” he tried.
The blonde got out of his angry trance and looked Suna in the eyes. “Yeah?”
“Damn it’s more embarrassing than I thought it would be!” Suna thought to himself. “Hum-” he chuckled nervously, /again/. “Please tell me Osamu didn’t lie.”
Atsumu swears he has never seen Suna more vulnerable than right now.
“Huh?” Atsumu paused, and Suna really thought his heart would get out of his chest with how fast it was beating. “Of course not. I’ve been in love with ya for year too, Rin.”
It was now Suna’s turn to widen his eyes in surprise. He could feel his face heating up, his blush just kept growing and growing. And he knows Atsumu can see it, according to the fucking smirk on his face.
“Then why didn’t you reciprocate my kiss, shithead?!”
“I got fucking surprised, Rin! I wasn’t expecting that at all! I fucking thought ya got tired of me and that it’s why ya were avoiding me all evening!” He replied defensively to the taller man’s question.
“You- What?” Rintarou paused. “How could you think that?!”
“I dunno, Rin. I got scar-”
Atsumu got interrupted once again by a pair of lips on his own. This time though, he does reciprocate the kiss. He even deepens it, to Suna’s greater pleasure and satisfaction. They pulled back after what felt like hours due to their lack of breath, resting their foreheads on each other’s and smiling dumbly.
“As if I could ever get tired of you,” Rintarou tells him after having caught his breath, his smile reaching his eyes.
“God, he is so beautiful,” was all Atsumu could think of.
“How hot of me is it to start the year with a boyfriend?” Atsumu smirked but Suna could see his big genuine smile behind it. “Happy New Year, Rin.”
Rintarou chuckled. “Happy New Year, Atsu.” He replied before softly kissing the other’s forehead.