Chapter Text
All of Sakusa’s bad decisions in life could be linked back to the Miya twins.
Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but it was at least true of the last few years. When he had chosen to go to college instead of straight to the V.League, he assumed he wouldn’t be seeing any of the people he played with for the last three years. He realized he assumed wrong when he walked out of his dorm room on his first day and made eye contact with one Miya Osamu, who was exiting the room across the hall from him. The Inarizaki player froze when he saw Sakusa, before blinking and giving him a slight wave. Sakusa, in all his awkwardness, just tipped his head and rushed to his class. The curly-haired boy was sure he heard a snort from behind him, but he refused to turn around.
After that disastrous encounter, Sakusa had again, wrongly assumed Osamu would stay away from him. He’d basically run away from the grey-haired spiker, which was a clear signal not to speak to each other, no? Apparently not, considering Osamu was sitting across from him in their dining hall, shoveling rice and soup in his mouth.
Sakusa couldn’t help but watch in morbid fascination, wondering how Osamu was able to eat so much so quickly, before he spoke, “Is there a reason we’re sitting together right now?”Osamu looked unphased, stuffing a spoonful of curry into his mouth, “Why not? Yer the only person I know here, and I’m sure you haven’t made any friends yet,” Sakusa bristled at the accusation, no matter how correct it was.
“Are you always so rude?” Sakusa squinted accusingly at the other.
“’M only reciprocating the energy ya gave me,” Osamu shrugged, finally looking up at him. The first thing that struck Sakusa was the shade of grey Osamu’s eyes were. He’d never cared to look at them back then (they were rivals after all), but Osamu’s eyes were a gunmetal grey with a dark blue speckled in.
‘Pretty,’ Sakusa thought, before startling. Why the hell had that came to his mind?
Osamu sighed across from him, “Look, if ya don’t want me around, I can go. I just thought it might be nice ta sit with someone ya know while we’re still getting used to bein’ away from home. I won’t bother you anymore if you tell me to fuck off,” Osamu looked away, causing Sakusa to notice his ears turning red. The Itachiyama player took a second to take in Osamu’s entire demeanor; the other wasn’t looking at him right now, so he wasn’t mindful of the way Sakusa could see him wringing his hands or hunching a bit. He obviously didn’t realize how red his ears were, embarrassment showing. Why was he embarrassed though?
Not one to beat around the bush, Sakusa bluntly replied, “Why are you acting so shy and embarrassed now, after you were so shameless before?”
Osamu sputtered for a minute, making Sakusa smirk internally. He finally got his bearings, glaring at him, “I wasn’t being shameless! I just, I… whatever! I’ll go, since my presence is so awful to ya,” the grey-haired boy growled, moving to get up from his seat.
Sakusa wasn’t sure what came over him in that moment. Usually, he hated touching other people unless he had to. Usually, he would just let the other person run off, glad to be alone again. But something about this situation, Sakusa didn’t want it to end.
Grabbing Osamu’s wrist, he was quick to command, “Sit. Just tell me why.”
Osamu seemed startled by the contact, eyes flicking down to his wrist, where Sakusa was holding him. Seeing that the other wasn’t making any move to get up again, Sakusa retracted his arm, reaching into his bag to grab his hand sanitizer.
There was a beat, before, “I’m not used to being on my own. I’ve always had Tsumu by my side. It’s nice ta have some peace and quiet, but I didn’t realize how lonely I’d get,” Osamu confessed, eyes trained on the table. His words made Sakusa stop and consider, thinking about how he’d always seen the Miya twins hanging off of each other at tournaments. They seemed to feed on each other’s energy, always bickering or fighting or laughing. He figured that Osamu had been feeling off without his hyperactive twin by his side, and needed someone to fill in the void. But-
“I am definitely not a good substitution for your brother,” Sakusa said, matter-of-factly.
Osamu snorted, “Course not, you two are complete opposites. Tsumu is a loud-mouthed pig and yer the most uptight eighteen-year old I’ve ever met,” Sakusa scowled, making Osamu laugh before continuing, “But, yer also the only person I know here. So I was kinda happy when I saw ya the other day. Didn’t realize ya wanted nothin’ to do with me. Sorry fer botherin’ ya,” Osamu said softly, sincerely. It stunned Sakusa, who had assumed that Osamu was just like his twin, who refused to ever admit guilt (during a training camp one year, Atsumu had spiked a ball directly into the back of Sakusa’s head. He’d insisted Sakusa was standing in a bad spot. It took everything in the spiker to not suffocate the spiker in his sleep).
Sakusa hummed, considering the apology, “I don’t care if you sit with me at mealtimes, I guess. Just don’t bother me.”
Osamu’s eyes widened at the begrudging acceptance from Sakusa, before he burst into laughter. The sound surprised the taller boy; although they had played against Inarizaki at least once a year, he’d never heard Osamu laugh like that. He’d heard a whole lot of Atsumu (to his distain), but never anything more than a deadpan reply or an angry snarl from the other Miya twin. Sakusa could only pretend it didn’t fascinate him.
“Sure, Sakusa, I won’t bother ya. Promise,” Osamu said, giggles still pealing out of him. The raven-haired boy just hummed, a bit too distracted to respond.
That had seemingly been the start of the end for Sakusa, unbeknownst to him.
The best way to describe their predicament was a moth to a flame. Unfortunately for Sakusa, he was the moth in this situation. Osamu was bright in a way so different to his brother; he wasn’t loud, but his presence was known. He had a gentle warmth about him, and was able to bring a peace to others that baffled Sakusa, considering Osamu was child-like in many regards. It made the enigma of Miya Osamu all that more interesting, and Sakusa was helpless to stay away. Over and over again, he attempted to get closer and closer to the chef (he’d learnt with time that Osamu was going to college for a dual business-culinary degree). Despite him warning Osamu to stay away, it ended in Sakusa being the one who orbited around the other.
All this to say that Sakusa Kiyoomi had it down bad for one Miya Osamu (humiliating, he knows). If anyone asked, the athlete would vehemently deny it, but it was obvious to everyone (but Osamu) that Sakusa was head over heels in love with the younger Miya twin.
This all came to head one night, at an afterparty for the volleyball team’s championship game.
Their college team had just won, and decided the best way to celebrate was to get obliterated drunk. Sakusa, despite grumbling the entire way, had joined them and invited Osamu to celebrate with them. He had told himself that it didn’t mean anything, that his teammates had invited people too (although, most of them had invited their girlfriends, which was a fact that Sakusa refused to dwell on). Osamu had shown up a little while later, all smiles and congratulatory remarks for the team.
“Sorry I couldn’t come to the actual game, Kiyoomi,” Osamu had apologized for the third time, making Sakusa roll his eyes fondly (Sakusa had become Kiyoomi to Osamu over the years, and the development was not good for his heart, or his denial).
“I told you, it’s fine. I know you have that big project coming up for funding. You didn’t have to come tonight either, you know,” Sakusa replied. He honestly hadn’t expected Osamu to show up; his final project was looming over him, and the prize? A considerable amount of funding for his actual business venture. The stakes were higher than any volleyball game, even the championships, in Sakusa’s opinion.
Osamu just hummed back, “Well, I thought the least I could do to make it up to ya was to come rescue you from yer drunk team,” Osamu teased, “I’m actually surprised you agreed to go out tonight since you usually say no. What happened to ya?”
Sakusa gave Osamu a deadpan look, “Even I can scrounge it up in myself to participate in group activities. Shocking, I know.”
The grey-eyed twin just laughed, the sound twinkling in Sakusa’s ears. Osamu sounded so happy, so warm. It was a stark difference to when he’d seen the other earlier, slumped over his laptop, furiously typing. Sakusa couldn’t help but smile a bit, glad that Osamu’s stress levels had decreased, even a little. He was glad in moments like these that he hadn’t pushed Osamu away that day (and that he wore a mask, he did not want Osamu to know he was smiling at him, it would be humiliating).
Osamu shook his head, “I didn’t mean it like that, ya scrooge. I just thought ya’d find a bar like this too gross to come in.”
“I do. Unfortunately, this is the team’s favorite bar.”
“Why? There’re nicer ones.”
“I think it’s the only one they haven’t been banned from yet.”
Osamu snorted, knowing that that was probably true, before turning to order a drink at the bar. The duo talked for a while, a teammate or two coming up to them to say hi to Osamu. A few of them had given Sakusa a suggestive look, which made the spiker glare. He was aware that most of the team knew of his crush on Osamu and that he refused to confess, but he still didn’t appreciate the knowing glances. How dare they try to help Sakusa be happy!
It was about an hour or so later when Osamu wandered off to the bathroom, leaving Sakusa by himself, making him immediate prey for his team.
“Sakusa!” Nao, their captain, called, “Now’s the perfect chance!”
“For what?” Sakusa deadpanned, making a few of his teammates groan.
Nao was undeterred, “For you to ask Osamu out! The season just ended, we’re going to graduate in a month, it’s the perfect time!”
Sakusa only looked annoyed, “I’ve told you, I’m not asking Osamu out. We’re friends, and we’ll stay that way.” How many times did he have to explain this?
“But why?” Sanada, another teammate, whined. The spiker felt his eye twitch.
“We wouldn’t work out.”
“But why? You’re obviously in love with him! The only person you let near you is Osamu! We don’t even give you hi-fives after plays, but Osamu all but hangs off of you and you don’t bat an eye!” Sanada whined, making Sakusa scowl and blush.
Sakusa huffed, “Even if that was true,” he said, pointedly ignoring his teammates groans of ‘it is true’, “That doesn’t mean we have to date. I’m perfectly fine with my current relationship with Osamu.” A few of them looked at his skeptically, Nao raising an eyebrow at him as if to say ‘oh really’.
“So, you wouldn’t be bothered if Osamu got a boyfriend?” Nao asked.
Sakusa clenched his jaw as he replied, “Of course not.”
Their captain smirked, “Well, then surely you don’t mind that Osamu’s basically getting fucked on the dancefloor over there?”
With the speed that Sakusa turned his head, the team was surprised his neck didn’t crack as he scanned for one Miya Osamu. When his eyes landed on the chef, they all watched as Sakusa’s face twitched, annoyance immediately taking over his expression. A few meters away, Osamu was moving his hips with a small smile, a guy grinding against his ass without a care of who could see them. Sakusa’s eyes zeroed in on the man’s roaming hands, one on Osamu’s hip and the other on his waist. Fury filled the spiker’s veins as he wanted the mystery man whisper into Osamu’s ear, causing the grey-eyed boy to laugh.
During their college years, neither Sakusa or Osamu had dated anyone. The spiker had received many proposals of things as simple as coffee dates or daring college students asking for one-night stands; all of which, he rejected. He was sure that Osamu had received many of the same, since he was a good-looking guy. Sakusa had always wondered if the chef had ever taken anyone up on the one-night stands, but was never confident enough to ask. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to control his expressions if he did, and it would’ve given him away immediately. There had been a few instances where Sakusa noticed hickeys on his friend’s neck, or Osamu’s gait changing after he’d gone out for the night, but the spiker had always opted to ignore it, both for his and Osamu’s sake.
Now, Sakusa was wondering if he should ignore this as well. Osamu was a free man, and he could do as he pleased. They weren’t dating, which meant that he had no place to get jealous or angry. Osamu could grind and fuck anyone he wanted to, because Sakusa had never confessed. He wasn’t even sure that Osamu was aware of his feelings for him, so it wasn’t like he was doing this on purpose. He should just turn back to his team, get drunk with them, and go home, letting Osamu do what he wanted with this random fuck.
Evidently, he did not do that.
The volleyball player could see the surprise on Osamu’s face as he pulled him away from his partner, the chef looking up at him with wide, questioning eyes. Sakusa ignored the burning of his cheeks to look at the other guy, who seemed surprised but amused by his interruption.
“Kiyoomi? What’s going on, what are you doing?” Osamu asked, dumbfounded.
He honestly wasn’t sure what to say to him, so instead, Sakusa focused on the person he deemed the enemy.
“Him and I are leaving, thanks,” Sakusa told him, tone deadly. Osamu made a noise of confusion, but made no effort to pull himself out of Sakusa’s hold.
The mystery man raised an eyebrow, amusement still painting his face, “Are you now? And we were just getting into it, weren’t we Osamu?” His tone was teasing, making Sakusa clench his jaw. Why was he being so casual with Osamu already?
“Well, not anymore,” he replied.
Humming, the man replied, “Is that so? Why don’t you let Osamu speak for himself? Osamu, did you want to come back home with me?”
Osamu blanched at the straightforwardness, cheeks reddening quickly. He spluttered for a bit, while Sakusa could feel his blood boiling. Who did this guy think he was?
“Back off,” Sakusa said, warningly.
His nemesis took no heed, “Osamu? What do you say?”
Sakusa began to take a step forward, whether to threaten him or start a fight, when Osamu grabbed his arm, effectively holding him in place. He turned to look at the chef, who looked both embarrassed and annoyed.
“I’m not goin’ home with ya, Issei. Stop actin’ like a fuckboy, unless ya want me to tell Hanamaki about this,” Osamu said, glaring at the other man, Issei. To Sakusa’s surprise, Issei whined in response, but raised his hands in surrender.
Osamu then turned to Sakusa, who stiffened at the other end of Osamu’s glare, “And you, who do you think you are, telling me who I can and can’t be around? We were just dancin’, why’d you turn all territorial? We ain’t together, ya don’t get to do that!” Sakusa could feel himself turning red as Osamu pointed out his behavior. He had no excuse for acting this way, what the hell was he going to say?
It seemed like Osamu didn’t care about what he had to say, the brunette turning on his heels and stomping out of the bar. Sakusa blanched as he watched the twin leave, ignoring the hooting from his teammates and Issei completely as he chased after Osamu. His heart pounded as he followed his friend out, worried about how upset he was and if he had finally realized Sakusa’s feelings. He had no idea what he would do if Osamu rejected him right now; it would hurt, but he just hoped that the two could stay friends. He’d come to really treasure their friendship and he didn’t want to lose it because of some uncontrollable feelings he had.
Sakusa spiral came to halt the same time Osamu did outside the bar, almost causing him to slam into the grey-eyed boy. Osamu spun around quickly, eyebrows twitching and mouth forming a pout. While Sakusa thought he looked cute, he knew that he was about to get his ass handed to him.
“Are you gonna tell me what your problem is? If not, don’t keep followin’ me,” Osamu said, crossing his arms.
Sakusa looked ahead, not making eye contact with Osamu as he spoke, “I was just trying to look out for you,” he tried, but the twin was not having it.
“Ya don’t get to do that! Ya don’t protect me from my friends! Because that’s what Issei is, my friend! I don’t get it Kiyoomi, I don’t understand why you were actin’ like that,” Osamu said, tone stern. Sakusa sighed, wondering if it was all coming down to this.
“I didn’t know you knew him, I thought he was just a random guy grinding on you-“
“So ya have a problem with me gettin’ hit on or something? I can hook up with people ya know, I don’t have a boyfriend or anything.”
“I know you don’t-“
“So what? You know I don’t have one but you think you can police me? What’s all that about?”
“I’m not policing who you sleep with, I was just-“
“Just what?”
“I was jealous!” Sakusa yelled, surprise painting Osamu’s face once again. Sakusa didn’t stop there either, “I was jealous, okay? I didn’t like you dancing with him, so I came over to get you! It wasn’t polite and it isn’t my place, I know, but I don’t care. I don’t like seeing you grinding on another man.”
Osamu stared at him for a moment, “…We’re not dating though?” The brunette’s tone raising at the end.
Sakusa sighed, before looking in Osamu’s eyes and reaching for his hand, “We could be. If you wanted to, that is.”
Silence fell on the pair, neither of them saying anything. The ball was in Osamu’s court now, as Sakusa stood there frozen. What had he just done? He had stated over and over again that dating Osamu was a bad idea; he had convinced himself of it. They were in their final year and Sakusa was going to play professional volleyball and Osamu wasn’t even completely sure of where he wanted to set up his store and they were so good as friends and what if they broke up one day and lost that and-
A small giggle released the spiker from his mental breakdown, his attention snapping to the man standing across from them. He was looking down, but smiling as he lifted their intertwined hands. Sakusa had completely forgotten he’d grabbed Osamu’s until the chef had raised them to eye level, looking at them with mystified delight.
Osamu looked back at Sakusa, who was still frozen in time and space, and smiled, “Took ya long enough, Kiyoomi. Thought ya’d never say anything.”
Stupefied, Sakusa let out an intelligent, “Huh?”
Osamu laughed, “I thought you were supposed to be the calm, collected one between us. Didn’t think that this would work. I thought I would just embarrass myself. If I realized all it took ta get you to confess was to grind on Issei, I would’ve done it months ago,” he said nonchalantly, like his words weren’t making Sakusa’s brain reload.
The spiker just stood there, mouth agape as he struggled to comprehend what just happened. Thankfully, Osamu took pity on him and explained.
“I knew Issei would be there tonight. I asked ‘im to help me and he agreed. We were dancin’ like that on purpose, dummy. It was my last resort to see if ya had any feelings for me,” Osamu said, cheeks pinking.
Sakusa stared, dumbfounded, “You… you did that on purpose? To see if I would react?”
“Yup.”
“You wanted me to get jealous?”
“I honestly wanted you to have any reaction. You never seemed to care whenever I hooked up with people in the past.”
“You wanted me to react because you like me. Because you want to date.”
Osamu blushed, “Well, yeah. I’ve liked ya for a long time now, but I couldn’t tell if ya liked me back. I thought about askin’, but I figured you’d freak if I did and you didn’t feel the same, so I was scared. Sometimes I thought you felt the same way, but other times I couldn’t tell, so I’ve been trying to subtly let ya know, but yer so dense I had to resort to this.” He made a gesture to the space around them as he spoke.
Sakusa just stared back at him, still processing, “So, you grinded on another guy tonight because you’ve been wanting to see how I feel about you? And you’ve been trying to get a feel of my feelings for months now?” The curly-haired man asked.
Osamu scoffed, staring at the concrete as he mumbled, “When you say it like that, it’s embarrassin’, but yeah. Are ya mad?”
There was silence again for a moment, leading to Osamu wondering if he went about this the wrong way, if he had unintentionally hurt Sakusa. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt him or make him uncomfortable. Should he have just confessed, instead of doing this? What if Sakusa was so mad at him, his feelings faded? This was so embarrassing, Osamu was such an idiot-
Osamu squeaked as he was pulled forward by their still-connected hands, Sakusa’s free arm wrapping around his waist. He looked up at Sakusa, who was holding him tightly to his chest.
“You’re such an idiot, you know that?” Sakusa said, causing Osamu to bristle.
“You didn’t say anything either!”
“Mm, you’re right. We’re both idiots. We could’ve been like this for a long time now if we weren’t both scared.”
“I don’t mind,” Osamu mumbled, causing Sakusa to look down at him questioningly, “We weren’t ready to be a couple before, for whatever reasons we had. Even if it was just uncertainty, it wasn’t time for us to be together. But now, we both want this, don’t we?” He looked back up, eyes wide and vulnerable and hopeful, making Sakusa smile softly.
Pulling down his mask, Sakusa replied, “I’m still worried about some things. Our futures are still not certain, but I know that even if everything changes, I want you by my side, no matter the risk.”
The smile he was rewarded with would be burned into his mind forever, the way Osamu was glowing with happiness becoming a precious memory. Sakusa couldn’t help but lower his head, pressing a soft kiss onto his boyfriend’s (boyfriends!!!) lips. The surprised noise Osamu let out made the spiker smirk, causing the chef to smack his chest.
“Ya shithead, ya surprised me,” Osamu whined.
Sakusa couldn’t help his expressions, basking in the happiness he felt in the moment. He didn’t think it would turn out like this, but he was grateful. Suddenly, the idea he had been tinkering with for ages came back into his mind.
“You want to open your restaurant in Osaka,” Sakusa blurted out, Osamu startling, “You want to be close to Atsumu, right?”
Osamu nodded, “Yeah, that’s one idea. My instructors don’ really agree, cause Tokyo is a more obvious choice, but if it’s up ta me, ‘m going to him. We’ve been separated long enough.”
Sakusa took a deep breath, “I’ve gotten offers. For professional teams. Both the Jackals and the Adlers reached out to me,” he said, making Osamu’s eyes widen, “I didn’t tell you because I was debating them both, but… I was leaning towards the Jackals. Your brother is a self-centered, egotistical maniac with a volleyball where his brain should be,” the dig made Osamu snort, “but he’s the best setter I’ve seen. I want to receive his sets. I want to go to Osaka,” Sakusa breathed out.
“Osamu, go to Osaka with me.”
Osamu’s smile was warm and kind and loving. It was Sakusa’s favorite look on the chef, his heart swelling. Pressing a chaste kiss onto the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth, “Sure, Kiyo. Let’s go to Osaka,” he said, eyes full of joy.
Like the moon that orbited the earth, Sakusa glowed from the inside out as he found home in Miya Osamu.