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Tendou only got into watching the Olympics in college. He hadn't given it much thought before that. He never watched sports much in high school; he got all the athleticism he could stomach through Shiratorizawa's grueling practices and had preferred to fill his spare time with manga instead.
But Ushijima went to college for Tokyo and almost immediately, he had fallen in with two guys who were bigwigs in high school volleyball as well. It was maybe three weeks after moving to Tokyo before Ushijima texted him an address at six in the morning and told him he was renting an apartment with some people named Kuroo and Bokuto. Tendou recognized the names from volleyball, and honestly he couldn't find it in him to be surprised and merely wished Ushijima luck in finding roommates who were just as into volleyball as himself.
It was another several months before Tendou found the time to actually make the trip down there to visit. He remembered thinking the place was small for three guys, but it was close to campus and the neighborhood was nice enough to make him a little jealous compared to his own residence.
He knocked and someone called for him to just come in. As soon as he opened the door he was met with the familiar sounds of shoes squeaking on a court and a muted roar of a crowd. He made his way to the living room and saw one roommate (by the hair, he recognized him immediately as Bokuto) parked in front of the tv, a beer clutched in one hand and his hair in another. He was standing utterly still besides for some kind of fast, nervous breathing through a particularly long volley. Tendou circled around Bokuto and saw that the game was the men's finals between Russia and Brazil.
Ushijima and Kuroo were in the wide doorway between the kitchen and the living room watching (or more listening) to the game over Bokuto's shoulder. They were talking to each other until Tendou had set his bag down by the couch and approached them.
“Who do you think?” Ushijima asked him. Tendou pondered over the question long enough for Kuroo to reach out and shake his hand before he realized he was talking about who would win the game.
“Shit, I don't know. I don't keep up with this,” he said. He glanced at the tv then hopped in place in some lazy recreation of Brazil's synchronized attack. “Brazil looks flashier so I'll root for them.” Kuroo chuckled at the show as Ushijima turned and pulled another beer out of the fridge. Tendou took it from him and twisted the cap off with another bit of flair.
“Russia has it,” Ushijima told him. Bokuto, who had ignored them thus far, hissed and turned at the hips only enough to point at them with his beer hand.
“Brazil! Brazil is gonna win or I'll write my next lit paper in Russian!” He exclaimed. Kuroo threw his head back and laughed.
“There's a hundred reasons why Lev wouldn't help you. Mostly the fact that he doesn't know a letter of Russian.” Bokuto gasped and now he pulled his eyes away from the tv. Ushijima grinned.
“You're gonna have a fun weekend,” he said and the audacity of the whole thing left Tendou gasping for air.
Russia took the fifth set to Bokuto's dismay. After much teasing on Kuroo's part and begging on Bokuto's, they all agreed that Bokuto would sacrifice one of his shirts to spray paint and substitute his punishment by wearing the Russian flag for the next week. Tendou was more than happy to join in on giving Bokuto a hard time, but found it somewhat bewildering that Ushijima was just as involved.
Six months ago, Ushijima had been his typically reserved self right after their graduation ceremony. His expression had been almost dour as he listened to Goshiki proclaim he would become a better ace than Ushijima ever was and ignored how Shirabu puffed up at his side, quiet only because he would break and start to cry if he opened his mouth. Amidst it all, Ushijima had stayed calm and seemingly detached as always and Tendou had remembered thinking that anyone looking at their group from the outside would have probably thought Ushijima didn't care about any of it, about any of them.
Watching him now as he talked with his roommates, Tendou thought him barely recognizable. He had come out of his shell so much in so little time he wondered if Miyagi had stifled him without anyone knowing.
“You're gonna play in the Olympics someday, right?” Tendou asked. He had tossed the question out without much thought.
“Of course!” Bokuto announced, looking almost smug and proud of himself. Kuroo dug his elbow into Bokuto's side but Ushijima's expression changed. Tendou felt a shiver run down his spine when he found that familiar look of focused aggression settled on him.
“Yes. If I can be an ace here, I can be an ace for the Olympic team.”
Tendou thought about that answer as he flipped the channel to the Olympic broadcast before he even loosened his tie or took off his shoes off after coming home from work. He had made it in time to catch the tail end of the men's finals.
This year Japan was playing Russia. Tendou grinned to himself as Ushijima went up to serve and slammed the ball over the net so hard the camera's audio picked up the echo of the impact over the murmur of the crowd. At thirty-four, they were probably both too old to be playing volleyball the same way they had in high school. Tendou knew for a fact that Ushijima had injured his left shoulder more than once, but the redhead also knew that, if anything, Ushijima was playing more brutally now than he ever did when they were younger.
The possession changed and Tendou shrugged off his coat. He reached into his pocket for his phone and it started vibrating as he pulled it out.
“That would be Shirabu~” he hummed to himself, flipping it open to read the new text.
'Are you seeing this?' It was Shirabu, of course, and Tendou didn't even have to ask to know he was watching the same game.
'u cant blame him 4 getting worked up 4 finals' The reply came a few seconds later.
'He's going to tear his shoulder all to hell again!' Tendou took the time to change and settle into the couch. Ushijima had rotated up front and spiked right through Russia's block. Tendou pulled out his phone again.
'its worth it if he brings you a gold right??' He could see Shirabu start typing, then pause for several seconds.
'You know how bad he is about not resting an injury.'
'then his setter is tossing 2 him 2 much?' The next response was instant.
'No' Tendou laughed. Shirabu's attitude as a setter had never changed. As long as Ushijima still wanted to spike, he got as many tosses as he needed. The final set was over in another few minutes. Japan had won gold.
'yaay~ I would tell you not 2 worry but i'm sure you will fuss over him anyways. I'll come by with drinks when you get back in sendai make room cause i'm calling everyone~' Tendou ignored Shirabu's attempts to talk him out of that while he scrolled down to Ushijima's number.
'~Miracle Boy Wakatoshi~!'