Work Text:
Kiyoomi exits his car with a heavy card box in hand, shutting the door with his foot and fumbling to lock the vehicle.
He has ten minutes to spare before his first class for the day starts, and less than five to get this box to Atsumu.
Kiyoomi hurries toward the Mathematics department, returning distracted greetings. His boyfriend is an idiot.
By the time he makes it there, all the teachers, save for Atsumu, are gone as the bell rings.
“There you are,” Kiyoomi pants. “I can’t believe you forgot the midterm exams?!”
Atsumu looks appropriately sheepish. “I had a meeting in the morning and completely forgot…thanks for bringing them Omi-omi, yer a lifesaver.”
He lets out a long-suffering sigh, passing Atsumu the box, and turning to leave. “I’m going to be late to class, see you at lunch.”
The hallways are crowded with students rushing to class much to Kiyoomi’s consternation. This is the exact reason why he likes to arrive early and wait at his desk, regardless of the students’ disappointed groan each time they realise they don’t have a few minutes to mess around until the teacher joins them.
Kiyoomi arrives in time with his students, who all look rightfully stunned at his delay. “Settle down,” Kiyoomi tells them, dropping his bag on the teacher’s table. “I need a minute to set up, but that’s not an excuse to cause a ruckus.”
“Sakusa-sensei, did something happen?”
The only reason Kiyoomi answers is because he has a soft spot for this student. Yachi is quiet and shy, but her grades are always the highest in the class, and she does her homework diligently. “I had to run an errand for Atsumu-sensei.”
A sudden hush befalls the classroom, but Kiyoomi doesn’t pay it any mind as he finally pulls up the correct slide on his computer. “Alright, as you remember last week, we covered…”
By the time lunch arrives, Kiyoomi is beginning to feel harried. The couple minutes delay in the morning somehow became a trend as he found himself repeatedly getting caught in student foot traffic.
He cringes every time they accidentally brush against him, even when they flush and apologise.
Kiyoomi sighs for the nth time today, making yet another detour for the restrooms to wash his hands.
“Omi-omi!” Atsumu calls from across the hall, getting his and almost half the student body’s attention. They all swivel their heads in Atsumu’s direction, but he doesn’t seem bothered as he raises his bento meaningfully.
As endearing as his boyfriend can be, Kiyoomi would’ve appreciated joining him for lunch without the scrutiny of fifty pairs of curious eyes trailing them.
He doesn’t quite catch the murmurs of the students as he passes by, but he could’ve sworn he heard a little giggle and ‘cute!’
Nonetheless, Kiyoomi ignores it and allows Atsumu to lead him to the teachers’ lounge.
“I got Samu to make us Onigiri,” Atsumu whispers conspiratorially, looking inordinately pleased for someone who receives Onigiri on a regular basis.
Kiyoomi kind of wants to squish his smiling cheeks and bite his nose or something.
He settles for ruffling his hair as they head for the seating arrangement in the corner.
“Ohayo, Takeda-sensei,” Kiyoomi greets the only other occupant of the room.
Takeda, whose mouth is full of Soba noodles, simply raises his hand in a jaunty wave.
“Guess what,” Atsumu pipes up, dragging his attention back to the blond. “I think Chibi-chan and Kageyama-kun are finally dating.”
He says it with a giggle, like the awkward dating lives of his teenage students are incredibly amusing.
Kiyoomi indulges him. “Yeah? What gave it away?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it,” Atsumu snickers as he opens his bento. The happy flush in his cheeks is so endearing that Kiyoomi is overcome by the urge to pinch a dimpled cheek. “I caught them passing love notes. ”
“Oh.”
“Poor kiddos were so embarrassed,” he giggles, pushing his bento close to Kiyoomi so he can share it with him.
“Let me guess, you embarrassed them even more by making a spectacle,” Kiyoomi guesses drily, and judging by the sheepish grin on Atsumu’s face, he hit the nail on the head.
“To be fair,” Atsumu says, biting into his favourite fatty tuna Onigiri and chewing thoughtfully. “I keep catching students gossiping about us.”
That gives Kiyoomi a pause. “About us?”
“Aha,” Atsumu nods, finishing his onigiri with relish. “Like they pass notes ‘bout us bein’ cute together.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Kiyoomi chides, leaning over the table to swipe a grain of rice off Atsumu’s chin.
Thoughtlessly, he pops it in his mouth to swallow.
Atsumu’s eyes widen a little, but he resumes his tale with another nod. “Okay so hear this, Noya-kun has formed an entire club of shippers to set us up together.”
Kiyoomi almost snorts his food. Almost.
He coughs, reaching for a wad of tissue to cover his mouth, feeling his eyes water.
“What?” he croaks.
“They think we like each other—I mean they ain’t wrong. But it seems that they dunno that we’re already together.” Atsumu reaches for his second Onigiri.
“How the heck did we become the centre of gossip?” Kiyoomi demands.
“Actually, Sakusa-sensei,” Takeda chimes from his corner. “They all seem to be compiling lists of interactions between the two of you.”
Kiyoomi splutters. “What?!”
Takeda’s face suffuses with awkwardness. “Um. All the teachers are aware of this. I think they find it entertaining. But the students are coming up with reasons why you’d be good together.”
“I can’t believe this.” Kiyoomi puts his face in his hands and groans. “After all the trouble of staying off the radar.”
He looks at Atsumu from between his spread fingers accusingly. “This is all your fault.”
“How is this my fault?!”
“You keep making moon eyes at me!”
Atsumu gasps. “I do not.”
“Yes you do.”
“Do not!”
“Atsumu-sensei,” Takeda interrupts with a muffled chuckle. “Yes you do.”
Atsumu gasps. Kiyoomi gives him the evil eye.
He watches Atsumu sink in his seat with a pout. “So what if I love my boyfriend?” he grumbles petulantly, tempting Kiyoomi yet again to squish his face and kiss him.
“Can’t you love me out of the spotlight?”
“Omiiii.”
The revelation brings forth new clarity to Kiyoomi’s interactions with his students.
They do, indeed, seem a little too involved in his affairs.
The previous, seemingly-innocent ‘Sakusa-sensei, have you seen Atsumu-sensei around?’ doesn’t seem so innocent anymore.
In the past, Kiyoomi’s answer would be along the lines of ‘he was in the courtyard last I saw him.’
The thing is, Kiyoomi always has an answer to Atsumu’s whereabouts. And now it strikes him that it’s quite telling to be so aware of another person.
No wonder his students think they like each other.
Kiyoomi contemplates mentioning their relationship to get them to back off, but that seems very inappropriate, and Kiyoomi has always valued his privacy.
Now, he sort of ignores the questions. He can’t tell if this makes matters more obvious.
Why do his students look so gleeful?
He heads home that day in a daze, and doesn’t realise he's pouting until Atsumu suddenly swoops low to kiss it off his lips the moment Kiyoomi reaches their kitchen. “Smile, Omi-kun!”
Flushing, Kiyoomi pushes him away. “At least let me brush my teeth.”
Atsumu giggles, returning to the stove where a pot of broth is steaming. “Why’re ya pouting, baby?”
To his embarrassment, he finds himself resisting another pout. “I wish you hadn’t told me about the gossip. Now it’s all I can think about. Even Yachi-chan seems to know! Do you think she’s involved too? What if everyone is in on this?”
“Hey, hey,” Atsumu pulls him into his arms. “Relax. It’s okay. Why is it a big deal? We are together.”
“It’s embarrassing,” Kiyoomi mumbles, failing to meet Atsumu’s sincere honey-warm eyes.
His boyfriend chuckles sweetly, tipping Kiyoomi’s chin with his knuckle. “Let’s be real, the only embarrassment is how besotted I am with ya.”
Atsumu pecks his nose, causing Kiyoomi to swat at him halfheartedly.
“Stop sweet talking me,” Kiyoomi grumbles. “This is all your fault.”
His boyfriend coos, nuzzling Kiyoomi’s neck. “I’ll make it up to you~”
“I saw them smile at each other,” Tanaka hisses.
“I saw them brush hands in the hallway!” Noya nods fervently.
Terushima leans over to join the conversation. “You should’ve seen them the other day… they looked like they wanna rip each other’s clothes off.”
Kiyoomi flushes. “Terushima-san,” he barks. “Is there something you’d like to share with the class?”
To Kiyoomi’s vindictive amusement, Terushima startles so hard, he knocks his knee against the underside of the table and makes a choking noise. “N-no, Sakusa-sensei!”
“Are you sure?” Kiyoomi keeps his tone without infliction, affecting innocence. “Your little group over there are all looking quite serious. Could it be that you’ve forgotten your homework?”
The three scheming students yelp in unison. Kiyoomi refers to them as the troublemaking trio in his head for their shared penchant to cause trouble. That, and they always somehow seem to forget about their homework.
“I see,” he says gravely. “You leave me no choice guys…”
Dread dawns on their faces.
Kiyoomi lets them stew for a minute. “I have to give you break time detention.”
Their simultaneous groans are music to his ears.
Take that, you little gossiping, scheming munchkins.
The detention doesn’t seem to deter them at all.
Kiyoomi is at his wit’s end when he overhears a conversation on the basketball court between some of Atsumu’s students.
“They’re really cute.” The ginger-haired girl has hearts in her eyes. “Did you see the way Atsumu-sensei goes all golden retriever puppy when he sees him?!”
“That’s one way to put it,” Hanamaki sniggers. “He’s so in love it’s disgusting.”
“It’s cute,” insists the girl.
“We should lock them in a classroom,” Terushima suggests, spinning a basketball on the tip of his finger. “Then they’ll have no choice but to talk and confess.”
“Sakusa-sensei would kill you,” Makki says from his perch against the wall.
“Not when he secures a hot piece of ass, nah he won’t.” Terushima returns blithely.
Makki shrugs. “It’s your funeral.”
Ugh. Kiyoomi can’t believe he's having evil thoughts about sixteen-year-old boys, but he's tempted to wring Terushima’s neck.
Where does he get off referring to Atsumu as a ‘hot piece of ass’ anyway?
This has gotten out of hand. Kiyoomi is torn between intercepting the conversation, enlisting Atsumu’s help, and revealing their relationship.
He's saved from making a decision by the bell.
Kiyoomi hurries to his next class with his thoughts in a swirl. What’s the best way to combat this? Why are his students so obsessed? Are they that bored?
Maybe Kiyoomi and Atsumu should give them more homework, maybe then they’ll be too busy to concern themselves with adult teachers’ dating lives.
The thought makes Kiyoomi smile evilly, sending students scurrying out of his way.
“We should invite them to a joint lunch between our classes.”
“That’s too public. No, we should give Atsumu-sensei a box of donuts and pretend it’s from Sakusa-sensei.”
“That’s cute. We can get Sakusa-sensei a coffee and tell him it’s from Atsumu-sensei.”
Kiyoomi is aware of all their scheming, with no way to intervene.
So when he receives a coffee from Yachi, claiming it’s from Atsumu, he simply sighs and accepts it. “Tell sensei I say thanks.”
At lunchtime, Atsumu enters the lounge with a box of donuts. “Did you really get me donuts, Omi-Omi?”
“No,” Kiyoomi groans. “It’s your little scheming students trying to set us up.”
He raises his half-finished coffee. “From Atsumu-sensei,” he mocks deeply before draining it in one long gulp.
Atsumu barks out a laugh. “Oh god, this is hilarious.”
“No, it’s stupid,” Kiyoomi grumbles.
“You’re getting free coffee, that ain’t stupid,” Atsumu denies, and then fishes a donut from his box, biting into a chocolate-coated one. “And these are delicious.”
“Swallow before you talk,” Kiyoomi chides.
Atsumu swallows and sticks his tongue out. “Make me, Omi-Omi.”
Kiyoomi gasps, scandalised, his gaze shooting to Ushijima in the corner, but the latter seems too preoccupied with grading student papers.
“Atsumu,” Kiyoomi hisses, glaring daggers at him.
“Simmer down Omi,” Atsumu chuckles, approaching him to shove the last bite of donuts in Kiyoomi’s mouth. “Have a donut.”
Kiyoomi chokes a little, glaring at Atsumu through teary eyes, but dutifully chews and swallows.
It is quite a delicious donut.
“From Atsumu-sensei,” Yachi shyly hands Kiyoomi a bag of pickled plums and how the hell did his students discover his favourite treat?
“I… uh. Thanks, Yachi-chan.” He can’t even muster the will to glare at her. Goddamn it, his students must be sending her on purpose, knowing Kiyoomi would never treat her meanly.
At lunchtime, Atsumu skips into the lounge with an excited grin. “Omi! They got me a caramel frappuccino!”
Instead of falling into dramatics again, Kiyoomi simply sighs. “Good for you… they got me pickled plums.”
“Ooh, you love those.” Atsumu plops down next to him, slurping happily at his coffee. “I gotta tell ya, I don’t quite mind this too much.”
“Of course you don’t,” Kiyoomi rolls his eyes, and against his better judgment, leans over to take a small sip from Atsumu’s straw. He regrets it immediately. “Ack! What’s this, sugar with a shot of coffee?”
“Don’t disrespect frappuccinos in front of me, Omi,” Atsumu huffs, stealing one of his pickled plums before Kiyoomi can slap his hand away. “What do you think they’ll get us next?”
Kiyoomi groans. “I’m hoping for some peace of mind.”
It all comes to a head when Kiyoomi discovers that his students are actually intent on locking them in a classroom after school.
They must be insane, or maybe criminals-in-the-making, but Kiyoomi isn’t about to endure incarceration by murdering them or getting locked up in a stuffy classroom.
“This has to stop,” he hisses at Atsumu as they pack their things in the morning.
His boyfriend is making coffee, his tie hanging loosely around his neck.
“They’re planning to lock us up! They’re insane!” Kiyoomi yanks Atsumu closer to fix his tie. “Fix your goddamned tie, goddamn it.”
“Hey, hey,” Atsumu raises his hands in mock surrender. “I agree. And I was gonna get to it.”
“What should we do?” Kiyoomi slots the knot neatly at the base of Atsumu’s throat and smooths his shirt of any creases.
“I think it’s time we make some sort of statement,” Atsumu suggests. “We can go in early. Ride to work together. Make sure they see us this time.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. At least it won’t involve Kiyoomi exposing his private life.
And, true to Atsumu’s theory, arriving together while the students are still playing in the courtyard, their elbows brushing with every step as they share a coffee, is enough deterrent.
He ignores the murmurs, the hushed squeals, and the sneaky camera snaps as the students pretend not to look but fail miserably.
At least they don’t get locked up that afternoon.
But the gossip doesn’t disappear.
If anything, the students start a fan club.
And Kiyoomi? Kiyoomi gives the hell up. Whatever.
As Terushima said, Kiyoomi secured himself a hot piece of ass and he doesn’t regret it.