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Sakusa cursed the day he decided to join this team. How he managed to join the team of some of the loudest, most obnoxious players from his high school years he could never explain.
Bokuto and Hinata would have been enough, their explosive energy and mentor-student relationship enough to drive him up the wall. Atsumu was an entirely different story. For a multitude of reasons.
He was loud. He was cocky. He was obsessed with pushing Sakusa’s buttons (“Omi-Omiiiiiii!”). He was clingy. He was annoying, but still kind and genuine and cared about his teammates and -
He was Miya Atsumu. That was enough to drive him insane.
And he was his roommate for the next two nights. Gods, why did he join this team?
“I call this one, Omi-Omi!”
Sakusa pinched his eyes closed at the loud voice in his ear, Atsumu skirting past him to jump childishly onto the bed closest to the door, starfishing across the sheets and sending his duffel careening into the headboard. The weight of it knocked it against the wall loudly to which Atsumu snorted unflatteringly and muttered an uncaring “Oops! Hey, Omi, did’ja know that-“
Sakusa took a deep breath and wondered if it was too late to quit now. He quickly resolved that, unfortunately, it was, and finally stepped inside, letting the door shut behind him as he walked over to the empty bed on the other side of the room.
The blonde continued to chatter away despite knowing that Sakusa wasn’t paying attention. Their game tomorrow was against EJP Raijin and Sakusa knew that Atsumu got nervous playing against his childhood best friend and ex-teammate, and when he got nervous he talked. And talked, and talked, and talked.
(Not that Atsumu would ever admit that. Sakusa could just tell.)
Atsumu’s long winded one-sided conversation trailed off as Sakusa finished unpacking, and the younger glanced over to find the boy staring off into space with the edge of his thumb in his mouth.
Sakusa was only slightly worried. More uncomfortable - nothing good came from a quiet Miya Atsumu. He cleared his throat, catching the boy's attention, “Ya. Atsumu.”
The blonde startled out of his daze and leaped to his feet, acting as if his momentary lapse never happened. “Ah! Y’know, as much as I love hanging out with ya, Omi-Omi, I can’t sit here any more. Too boring. I’ll be down at the pool if ya need me!” Before Sakusa could blink the door was shutting behind him, leaving him alone in their shared hotel room, feeling a bit whiplashed.
Atsumu didn’t return to their room until late, stumbling in with flushed cheeks and an unsteady gait. Sakusa was still awake, propped up against the headboard with a book in his lap and he frowned at the sudden noise, peering up over his glasses in time to watch the blonde stumble into the edge of his bed, giggling as he fell face first into the comforter.
“Sorry, Omi!” Bokuto peeked his head around the door just before it closed, waving his hand in apology. “‘Tsumu wanted to play a drinking game with us! He was really, really, really bad at it. Night!” He left as soon as he came, door shutting and locking after him.
“Nuh uhhhhh,” Atsumu whined in protest, voice stifled by the cotton fabric. “Super good. Soju is so super good.”
“Mm,” Sakusa hummed, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “You need to wash up before you sleep in that bed, Miya.”
“Okay, dad,” Atsumu sneered.
Sakusa continued like he didn’t speak. “You smell like a distillery. And like chlorine. It’s disgusting. You shouldn’t drink this much the night before a game.”
“No, you smell like a-“ Atsumu cut himself off, rolling over once, twice until he rolled himself off of the bed. “Ugh. You and yer big stupid words.” He kept muttering under his breath as he retreated to the bathroom.
Sakusa had put away his book by the time Atsumu returned from the bathroom, lamp off and laid in bed ready to sleep. The blonde had clearly sobered up a bit during his shower and Sakusa watched discreetly as he quietly climbed into his own bed.
He quickly shut his eyes when Atsumu spotted the water bottle that he had placed against his pillow while the boy was in the bathroom, feigning sleep. (He just knew Atsumu never properly hydrated after drinking. That’s all.)
Atsumu smiled softly to himself and uncapped it, taking a drink. Sakusa listened, eyes still shut, as the blonde finished his water bottle and turned off his own lamp before finally allowing himself to drift off to sleep. They had a game tomorrow, after all. They all needed to be at their best.
Sakusa did not feel at his best. He woke groggily, prying his eyes open only to see that the room was still bathed in darkness. He turned his head towards the alarm clock on the hotel’s bedside table, squinting against the harsh red lights that announced it was 2:48 in the morning, a mere four hours since he had fallen asleep. He sighed heavily and settled back against his pillow to fall back asleep when he heard a noise from across the room.
His eyes snapped back open and he looked towards the other bed to see Atsumu sat up, blankets bundled around his body as he shivered. No - not shivering. Shaking. He was crying. Sakusa flinched when he heard a stifled sob escape the boy’s mouth. That must have been what woke him up before.
Sakusa quietly sat up as well, not wanting to startle him. “Miya?”
Atsumu startled anyways, breath hitching and head snapping up towards him in the dark room. It was too dark to see details but Sakusa could see his tear filled eyes in the glare from the alarm clock.
“Are you crying?”
Sakusa was expecting a snarky reply to his question or a nonchalant excuse but all he got was a drawn out whine as Atsumu’s head fell onto his drawn up knees, He froze in shock. What was he supposed to do now?
He watched in silence for a minute or so as Atsumu - quite loudly now that he knew the other was awake - cried. “Do… Do you need me to do anything?”
Atsumu’s cries paused at the words and he looked up once more, sniffling and wiping at his nose childishly with his sleeve. Sakusa sneered at the action but didn’t comment. “C-Can…” The boy paused, his voice oddly high pitched. “I sleep wif’ Omi?”
“You… Huh?” Sakusa blanched.
“I sleep wif Omi p’ease?” Atsumu repeated, balling his hands in his blanket. “Sad.”
The two stared at each other in the dark room, Atsumu’s teary earnest eyes meeting Sakusa’s bleary confused ones. “Um.”
A whine started to build up in Atsumu’s chest at the lack of response and Sakusa quickly rose to stop it. “Okay! Okay, just. Come here, I suppose.” He lifted the edge of his blanket and shuffled to the edge to make room. Atsumu eagerly dropped his own blankets and dove into Sakusa’s bed. “And keep to your-“ Sakusa was cut off by the blonde’s arms winding tightly around his waist and a teary face pressing into his chest. “…side.”
“Scared…” Atsumu whispered into his chest and Sakusa floundered with his hands, unsure of where to put them. He and Atsumu were friends (he would only admit this to himself in the comfort of his own head) and had been teammates for years, but they had never had skinship like his.
Sakusa settled for gently laying one hand between Atsumu’s shoulder blades and the other at the back of his head in semblance of what he hoped came across as comfort, even if he wasn’t used to giving it. “Why are you scared?”
Atsumu relaxed infinitesimally at the contact but his tears kept flowing. Sakusa’s shirt was disgustingly wet. “Game… ‘nd seein’ Sunarin...”
“You’re afraid of seeing Suna?” Sakusa frowned, hand unconsciously starting to rub circles against Atsumu’s back.
“No…” Atsumu shook his head, nose rubbing against Sakusa’s chest. “Miss him. I… I not scared, I…” He trailed off, whining. He couldn’t find his words.
“Nervous?” Sakusa filled in for him, sensing he was frustrated. Atsumu made a noise of affirmation.
“N’vous,” Atsumu repeated. “‘Cause I gotta be good ‘nd win ‘cause ‘s a game b-but I don’t wanna pway ‘gainst him ‘cause… ‘pposed to pway ‘gether. Miss pwaying ‘gether, Omi!”
He fell into another fit of sobs after his admittance, holding on tighter to his teammate. Sakusa was in shock by the emotional openness Atsumu was displaying and slightly confused by his childish language, staying silent for a few moments.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to miss playing with him, Atsumu,” Sakusa spoke after a while, carding a hand through his hair. “I’m sure he misses playing with you too. But… I think he’s just as excited to play against you, and I think playing against someone is just as exciting as having them on the same side of the net. Don’t you remember playing against me in high school?”
Atsumu was silent as he listened to the man, fingers tangled into the fabric of his shirt. “Uh huh…”
“I like playing with you, but I also miss playing against you. But I’m still here no matter what side of the net I’m on, and so is Rintarou.” Sakusa spoke softly. He hoped he was coming across as comforting. This was never his strong suit, but something about the way that Atsumu was acting tonight made him feel fiercely protective.
Atsumu peered up from Sakusa’s chest, face tear stained and snotty. Sakusa held back a grimace. “Ya promise?”
“I promise,” Sakusa quickly affirmed. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. It’s just a game, remember? You’re supposed to have fun. Rin… Suna will have fun, won’t he?”
Atsumu nods earnestly, sucking in his lower lip. “He a’ways has fun.”
“So you should too,” Sakusa nods back, taking his hand out of Atsumu’s hair to lightly flick his forehead. Atsumu giggles and cuddles back into Sakusa’s chest, making himself comfortable. The younger is about to protest, make the blonde return to his own bed, when suddenly he lifts a hand to his mouth and starts sucking his thumb. A part of him recoils, wants to start telling Atsumu how unsanitary it is. Another part of him, a slightly louder, sleepier part of him, coos at the action. Atsumu seems infinitely smaller like this, curled up against his chest with his thumb lax in his mouth, eyelids fluttering on the edge of sleep. Sakusa ignores the former part of his brain and instead wipes away the last of Atsumu’s tears and leans forward to press a featherlight kiss against his forehead.
“Goodnight, Atsumu. Let’s have fun tomorrow.”