Work Text:
Fourth Year of Elementary School, 10 years old
“So ya both wanna go pro in the future?”, young Aran had asked the twins once.
They both were carbon copies of each other, at least to other people. To Aran though, they couldn’t be more different.
Except when they were insufferable, on those moments they had the same level of brattiness each.
But still, if there was something that the twins agreed on, it was volleyball.
“Yeah! We will be the greatest players Japan has ever had!”, Atsumu proclaimed, his head held high as he turned towards his brother, “Right, Samu?”.
The younger beamed at him.
“Right!”.
Second Year of High School, 17 years old
“If you’re so dang confident…so dang sure you’ll be the happier one, then come back when we’re eighty-year-old geezers! Wait until then to laugh in my face and say you were happier!”.
“When we’re on our deathbeds…I’m gonna turn and look at ya right in yer face…and say I had the happier life!”.
Suna and Ginjima looked at them wrestling each other on the ground, with the slightest hint of hesitation.
“Should I get Kita-san?”, Suna asked with a deadpan expression but clearly worried.
This was the twins biggest argument that has gone through several weeks now. They’ll probably hurt themselves again.
He’s more concerned about Osamu though, he knows how much he struggled to finally talk to his brother about his decision.
And now Atsumu’s whole demeanor has worsened.
But Ginjima just smiled.
“Nah, they’re fine”, he assured, “Or well, they’ll be at some point”.
Third Year of High School, 18 years old
When Osamu told him he would quit volleyball after graduating high school, Atsumu took the news pretty maturely.
Whatever his teammates or Osamu himself says means nothing.
And yeah, he might have overreacted a little bit, but can anyone blame him? His twin, his other half, his partner since birth, had practically abandoned him and their dream.
Or well, Atsumu’s dream.
Osamu had already told him once that he loves volleyball a tiny bit more than he does, but Atsumu thought that was just his brother trying to not feel jealous when the Japan’s Youth Training Camp didn’t call him. He never thought it meant that his twin wasn’t on par with him on this.
Since they started playing back in elementary school, he believed they would be competing against each other on the same team as long as their bodies let them, both would be famous volleyball stars on an important team, but apparently only Atsumu wanted that.
But that’s okay, he’s over it already! If he grumbles everytime Osamu brings up his future plans, that's just because he’s tired of hearing him yap, he swears.
He still loves to complain about it though.
“Samu, come practice with me!”, he would try to convince him everyday.
Now that the season and tournaments were done and the school year was almost over, the volleyball club wasn’t active as much. They still have morning practices, but the afternoon ones had been canceled due to the upcoming college entrance exams.
And unfortunately for him, Osamu was going to take those.
“Can’t, need to study”, the younger replied for the tenth time, without sparing him a glance, “Why dontcha call Suna? I’m sure he is as bored as ya at his dorm”.
Atsumu wails at being dismissed again.
Of course he knows Osamu is busy, and that he could reach out to someone else of their friends from the club. But he doesn’t want anyone else, he wants to play with his twin.
“Please, please, please”, he begs, shutting off Osamu’s laptop, and getting himself a glare, “I want to practice some sets, and only ya can spike ‘em right”.
“Weren’t ya the one that used to call me trash?”.
“I was young and immature!”.
“This was just last year, Tsumu”.
Before he can throw another tantrum, their mother, who had just arrived from work, intervenes.
“Atsumu, honey, let Osamu be”, she scolds gently, ruffling his and Osamu’s hair as she passes by, “He’s pretty nervous about his entrance exam, we should be considerate, don’t bother him too much”.
For some reason, Atsumu felt like a toddler being scolded for misbehaving, and he sort of was in a way.
“But Ma…”, he whines yet again, pouting and trying to convince her, “It’s also not healthy for him to be bound to that desk all day. He should be more active!”.
Their mother hums, nodding at his reasoning.
“That it’s true, honey”, she reasons, smiling at her youngest betrayed face, “Ya should take a break from time to time. Go play with yer brother”.
“But Ma…”, it’s Osamu’s turn to whine.
She squeezes his arm slightly, a knowing look on her face.
“Come on, just for a while”, she proposed, gesturing towards the setter, “Besides, it would make yer brother happy”.
Atsumu was beaming an innocent smile, bouncing on his feet as his eyes begged Osamu to comply.
The younger tried to think of a way out of this situation, but ended up sighing.
“Okay, but just for a little while”.
That ‘little while’ became almost three hours of them going back and forth, trying some old and new plays Atsumu wanted to try.
Given Osamu’s initial resistance to take a break earlier, he thought his brother would call it quits after the first half hour. But even if his twin had decided to not become a professional player, he still loves volleyball.
That’s what Atsumu doesn’t understand. If Osamu is good and enjoys playing, why wouldn’t he want to stay by his side keep doing it as a career?
His brother isn’t insecure about his abilities, nor does he think a sports profession won’t give him a stable income. He was going to college, which was great, yeah, but he doesn’t even want to apply to the ones that had offered him a full scholarship if he joins their team.
He’s happy his brother is finding his own way, but did it have to be away from him without volleyball all together? He doesn’t understand.
“When’s yer exam?”, he asks disinterestedly as he passes the ball to Osamu for him to set while he spikes this time, “Ya know it doesn’t matter how much ya study? Ya will still be dumb, scrub”.
He expected a retort as always, but his twin remained silent, slowly picking up their ball from the other side of the net.
“I know”, he said quietly after a while, “But if I don’t do it, my grades will be way worse”.
Something sours on Atsumu’s stomach. He’s mostly teasing Osamu, and in a way trying to get back at him for quitting volleyball, but the idiot is still his brother and he’s worried. There have been several nights in a row where the younger doesn’t even go to bed, and when he finally does, he crashes and sleeps more than intended in pure exhaustion.
He’s not even in college yet and he’s already killing his very scarce brain cells.
So Atsumu’s worry is totally justified.
But now he feels bad, he can see Osamu’s frustration and his sleep deprived state. And if he manages, no, when he manages to go to college it will probably get worse, or so has he heard.
“What degree were you applying for, again?”.
Osamu peeks at him curiously. Atsumu has never shown any interest in his plans since their fight last year, this was the first time he even asked him something about it.
“A dual major in Culinary Arts and Business Administration”, his twin replied, tilting his head, “With both I can open up my own place”.
“Like a restaurant? Ain’t that expensive, scrub?”, he scoffed, yanking the ball off of his brother’s grasp, feeling frustrated all of the sudden, “Where are ya even gonna get the money to start? Don’t ya dare try to use our life savings!”.
“We have like, fifteen thousand yen saved up…”, Osamu wrinkled his nose, “It’s not even enough for a rental”.
“Exactly! Don’t go wastin’ money we don’t even have!”.
Osamu snarled at him, clearly pissed.
“As if I’ll ever need yer money, ya bastard”.
“As if I’ll ever give ya any!”.
Osamu went back to study after that, leaving Atsumu alone again.
Stupid brother and his stupid dream. Getting on his own feet would be too much work, and he’s barely passing high school, how does he expect to get into a nice college?
He scoffed when he finally went back inside the house three hours later, and saw the younger passed out on his desk yet again.
The scrub can barely keep himself alive, how pitiful.
If Atsumu draped a blanket around him and went for a quick trip to the store to buy Osamu the pudding he likes, it’s all because he feels sorry for the scrub, nothing more.
First Year of College / First Gap Year, 19 years old
Getting higher education was never really on Atsumu’s plan for his own life. In his head, volleyball was the only thing for his future. While he had received some sports scholarships, he was not really interested in pursuing another profession.
He is an athlete through and through. Not that he judges others who did, a lot of amazing players from his generation also went to college.
He just hates it doesn’t understand it in Osamu’s case.
The bastard had somehow managed to graduate high school without having to take remedy exams, and actually aced the entrance ones he needed. He was finally a student in his selected college.
For his part, he took training more seriously, and went to several tryouts from different teams. Although, there was this one team he had his eyes set on.
MSBY Black Jackals was one of his favorite teams growing up, and when he found out one of their recruiters had been at his last national tournament, he freaked out. Surely he had catched his attention there.
However, it had been weeks and still no call from their end. So it’s either they still hadn’t decided yet, or he was practically ghosted.
His mom doesn’t like to see him mop all alone holed up in his room, so she dragged him to the kitchen where Osamu was practicing some of his recipes for an upcoming examination he has for one of his courses.
Not only were his eyebags more prominent, and his exhaustion worse, but his hair was also a mess. Unlike Atsumu, Osamu decided to go back to his natural color, and let his roots grow out.
He hates it finds it weird for some reason.
Dyeing their hair is something they did together all through high school, and Atsumu thought they would still be doing it. But Osamu had complained about how his hair was so damaged from bleaching it so much, and it was getting pretty difficult to keep it decent with all his classes and stress from college.
So in conclusion, Osamu currently looks like shit, and he means it from the bottom of his heart.
“Tsumu, try this!”, the younger handed him a bowl, and while he was not sure what it was, he ate it without complaining, because as much as he hates to admit it, anything that Osamu makes always tastes heavenly to him, “How is it?”.
“It’s alright”, he replied dryly, all his energy had been wiped out.
He knows this type of thing takes time, but he still hoped for a reply from any team at this point. Not only had MSBY stopped contacting him, most of the teams that had promised him that he would fit within their members had basically forgotten he existed.
He’s confident in his skills as a player, he knows he is good enough.
But if other people don’t give him a chance, how can he prove it?
“Ya okay, scrub?”, Osamu poked at his cheek warily, “Ya look like shit”.
“Yer one to talk”, he grumbled as his twin smiled slightly at him.
“Is this about the tryouts ya did?”, he asked hesitantly, and Atsumu groaned and hid his face in his folded arms, making his brother chuckle and ruffled his hair in encouragement, “Don’t beat yerself down, Tsumu. They’ll call, I’m sure”.
He looks up to his twin, who went back to his tasks.
Easy for him to say. Osamu could be playing for important college teams, because not only could he still study whatever he wanted, but he could also still play volleyball semi-professionally.
Atsumu only had volleyball, and he feels so alone confused on what to do if no one calls him back.
“But…what if they don’t?”, he whispered, mostly to himself, but Osamu hummed in acknowledgement.
“Well, if they don’t, there’s that. Yer gonna stay here unemployed, so me and Ma will have to deal with yer moping ass ‘till death”.
“Hey, don’t be mean…”.
“But!”, his brother interjected, smiling softly back at him as he handed Atsumu an onigiri, apparently that’s what he has been preparing since he entered the kitchen, “That’s only if they don’t call back, and they will. So ya have nothing to be scared of”.
Atsumu frowned as he munched on the given snack.
“Am not scared, ya scrub”.
“Sure yer not”.
The spicy tuna onigiri tasted delicious, and while it did manage to cheer him up just a little, he also felt so much nostalgia from it. Osamu used to make an underdeveloped recipe for this for him whenever he cried when he was younger.
Whether it was a scraped knee, their mother scolding him, even just a bad day at school or practice, Osamu was always ready to comfort him in the best way he knew how; making food.
While he was still not fully on with the idea, he supposes it suits Osamu. His brother’s life had always orbited around culinary feats, be it to eat or make them.
Still, Atsumu believes that with him volleyball is where Osamu truly belongs.
He can’t help but feel like he wants to cry, but he can’t do it in front of his twin, that’s embarrassing.
Before he can retort something, Osamu pats his hair again, more gently than what he used to.
When Atsumu looks up to him, the younger is smiling softly at him.
“It’s okay, ya can cry. I’m busy and I won’t see”.
So as Osamu turned around, Atsumu let all his emotions finally come out, tears raining from his cheeks as he continued to silently eat his tuna onigiri.
Not only was he sad that no team seems to want to scout him, while that’s an inconvenience, he can pull through somehow, he’s sure of it. But he’s also incredibly sullen by the fact that his twin is not beside him.
Sure, they are in the exact same room right now, but what Atsumu means is that their paths are already diverging from each other way too much.
And that’s what actually scares him.
Oh, so that’s why he’s so down nowadays. He’s starting to notice that he hasn’t hung out with Osamu in forever, this is the first time this week they’re having a proper conversation.
Their schedules are not quite aligning up, and that frustrates him.
He scowls at his onigiri, as if the damn thing was responsible for it all, and then he takes it all in one go.
“Gimme another”.
Osamu makes him a whole batch, and Atsumu loves him a little more hates him a little less for it.
Second Year of College / Second Gap Year, 20 years old
Osamu has to take the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo so he can go to his classes, ending up with almost 6 hours of commute per day. His sleep schedule is fucked up, but he looks better than last year for some reason.
Atsumu is still unemployed, so he offered Osamu forced him to help him around with his startup business.
“Why are we doing this? I thought you were studying to be a cook, not a mechanic”, he asks, frowning at the beat up food truck his brother got from their uncle last week, “Shouldn’t a professional handle this stuff? What if ya mess it up further?”.
His twin was covered in grime, and was pretending he knew how to fix an engine. Atsumu himself is helping him, safely placed twenty feet away from the damn thing.
“It’s expensive, so I might as well repair it myself”, Osamu explains, proudly smiling at whatever he was doing, “Besides, it’s not like it actually has to be driven, I just need it for a stand, right here in front of the house”.
“Like Ma would allow it”, he scoffed.
“She said she doesn’t mind”.
“Ah…”, he blurted out smartly, “Well, it’s not like anyone would buy from yer dirty old truck either. It looks like trash”.
It wasn’t really that bad, but his point still stands. No one would want to buy from his brother if his truck looked like it had been haunted for the last decade.
“That’s why I gotta renovate it first, ya genius”, Osamu himself scoffed, dusting his hands off as he stepped back to look at his hard work, “I don’t think I’ll have it on time, though…”.
“What do ya even need this thing for?”, he reluctantly asked.
“The professor of one of my business classes gave us an assignment to try to sell our own product to the public”.
“Couldn’t ya have like, I don’t know, sell it to Ma or something?”.
He yelps at the slap on his arm, rubbing it with a pout.
“It needs to be a real business situation, that’s what the test is about”, his brother explains as they go back inside the house, “Besides, this is a good opportunity to start my real business, dontcha think?”.
Atsumu wants to punch that huge excited smile out of his face, but that’s probably just his sibling instincts kicking in.
“Who would even buy yer food? Dontcha need like, marketing and such?”, he wondered out loud, “Or do ya plan to go and sell it house from house?”.
“I got some orders already, actually!”, Osamu yelps, pulling out a notepad from one of the kitchen’s drawers, “Kita’s granny, Mrs. Ojiro, the Shinazugawa family, and from our old couch from middle school”.
“That many already?”, he asks, shaking his head, “But they all are people we know, Samu, if ya want to sell, ya need a better reach”.
The younger hums in contemplation.
Atsumu may not know a lot about how businesses work, but as far as he is concerned, if someone wants to make it big with a product, the public's rating and interest falls heavily on its success.
If Osamu only tries to sell his food to people they are already acquainted with, he would not move forward any time soon. Stupid brother, what does Atsumu send him to college for then?
“It’s not like I have an official store yet”, Osamu replies after a while, gesturing towards his ‘new project’ back in the yard, “That’s what the truck is for”.
Atsumu frowns at it.
Well, that won’t do.
He’s still not on board with this whole new path Osamu set for himself, but if he was gonna waste his life in a restaurant, he might as well do it right.
So the reason Atsumu stayed up late that night to make some posters advertising onigiri batches to paste them over all downtown the next time he goes, it’s not for his twin’s dream’s sake, is only so Osamu doesn’t embarrass their family name and waste their well-earned money on train tickets to college, that’s all.
It did turn against him though, as the following weeks Osamu’s phone didn’t stop ringing with more orders, and as he was busy with his classes and making the damn food, he had no time to deliver them. And who was the next available option?
That’s right, poor little boy Atsumu.
It didn’t matter how much he whined or complained, their mother made him do it.
And he may or may not have been also convinced by Osamu’s rare puppy eyes and the promise to do his chores for a week.
Besides, riding his bike back and forth was good cardio for his routine, so it wasn’t that bad of a deal either.
However, it did get exhausting when he had to go to the other side of their hometown just to deliver a damn bag of onigiri.
It was for the same old lady from yesterday, he doesn’t know who she is, or who is the onigiri for, because she bought three the day before and today it was two dozen. Who does she plan to feed?
“Oh, it smells delicious!”, she had complimented once he handed it to her, “Tell the man I talked to on the phone that he made my day”.
He eyes the onigiri warily. While he knows that Osamu’s cooking is better than most people’s, that doesn’t justify the lady’s excitement.
“It’s just onigiri”, he had said, not wanting to be rude, but he doesn’t understand.
“Have you ever tried it?”.
Ah, yeah? He’s basically the taster of every single one of his brother’s creations, no recipe of his had ever left the kitchen’s ground without Atsumu’s approval.
He left after that, not before catching the woman heading inside her home, with apparently a party going inside. That’s why there were so many onigiri then.
It’s good that people are interested in the scrub’s cooking, and while Atsumu knows that the potential is there, he’s concerned that Osamu’s luck may not last.
He gets surprised though, when he gets back home and sees his brother working on that damn truck again, only that this time it actually looks like a vehicle rather than a piece of junk.
“What are ya doing in culinary school? Ya should be a mechanic”, he joked, but he’s rather impressed by the upgrade, “When did ya even get the time to work on this?”.
“The last three weekends”, Osamu said proudly, a tiny smile making its way to his face, “Suna has been helping me”.
“Sunarin is back in town?!”.
“Was, he already left”.
“What?! I didn’t even see him!”.
The audacity of this guy, come to his house and not even letting him know.
“Yeah, he leaves right after we’re done for the day”.
“Well, yeah!”, he complains, crossing his arms and glaring at Osamu, “After ya probably forced him to do unpaid labor I’m sure as hell he didn’t want to stay”.
His twin blinks at him, tilting his head slightly.
“I mean, he offered to help…”.
“He probably felt pity for yer sorry ass after seeing ya struggle”.
“What do ya mean? He came just to help me”.
“All the way from Shizuoka?!”, he shrieked, astonished by the revelation.
That damn hopeless Sunarin bastard, when does he plan to actually confess?
He sighs, glancing towards the truck yet again. Not that he wants to admit it, but it looks really good now.
Maybe Osamu’s whole fantasy of it being a food stand right in front of their house wasn’t too far-fetched.
“Does this mean I’m finally free from my delivery boy services?”, he begs, and beams when Osamu nods, “Goddamn, finally”.
“That reminds me!”, the younger says, as he digs into his pocket and retrieves a small envelope, “Here, it’s not much, but I’m thankful for yer help these last few weeks”.
Atsumu looks curiously at the given thing, and pries it open to find a few bills in it. Was it already their birthday and he forgot? Why was Osamu giving him money?
“What’s this, Samu?”, he asks in confusion, surely the scrub wasn’t trying to pay him, right?
He doesn’t even have a real restaurant yet!
“What do ya mean? That’s yer payment”, his twin supplies with a chuckle, “Ya did a lot for me, so this is only fair”.
“But, what about yer savings?”, he wonders with a worried expression, “Dontcha need as much as ya can?”.
Since Atsumu had forbid Osamu from using their ‘life savings’ for his dream, even if he didn’t mean it seriously, his brother had started saving every little yen he gained, and while it wasn't much yet, the last few sales could give him a slight boost in his budget.
He shouldn’t waste it on Atsumu, he doesn’t want need it.
“I don’t need charity, Samu”, he complains yet again, trying to hand the envelope back to him, “Ya should save it for yerself”.
“Yer literally jobless right now, Tsumu”, Osamu deadpans, and Atsumu tries to kick him but the scrub dodges, “And while I know it won’t be for long, ya did work a lot lately, so I want to thank ya for it”.
“Cook for me then, don’t waste yer money, scrub”.
They went back and forth with it for a while, and it escalated to them wrestling on their porch, for all their neighbors to see. Their mother had to come to scold them, and it all ended with Atsumu having to accept his payment.
But that’s okay, he’ll just slip it back into Osamu’s wallet when the scrub wasn’t paying attention.
He continued helping his brother for a few weeks, until his brother had finally finished renovating his food truck, and got the necessary sanitary permissions for it, so he started his small onigiri stand.
Atsumu was surprised, but certainly pleased when he came back home after his practice on Osamu’s first afternoon selling, and found a huge line that almost went around the block.
Did that many people like his twin’s cooking? Not that he disagreed, the scrub got talent, but still, he didn’t know his reach had broadened so much.
When he got near the house, he could see that Osamu seemed pleased, busy, but pleased.
Atsumu is still not that thrilled by this whole onigiri business, but if the scrub wasn’t gonna hurry when there’s so many customers waiting, then he might as well help.
“Go back to preparing the damn food, I’ll take the orders”, he pushed the other out of the way, much to Osamu’s surprise, “Well, don’t just stay there, go back to work, idiot”.
The younger blinked twice, but ended up beaming and went back to prepare the pending orders.
Neither of them managed to take a break until they ran out of ingredients, and by that time, the sun had already set.
All they wanted to do was collapse on their beds and not wake up until a week later.
Who knew that selling onigiris was such a tiring issue?
However, before they could even manage to at least collapse on the couch, the landline started ringing.
Atsumu sure as hell wouldn’t answer it, so he kicked Osamu towards it so he could hog the couch.
His brother threw him a pillow, but that's fine, he can't feel anything, all his muscles are too sore to care.
“Hello…? Yeah, this is the Miya household”, Osamu snapped his head at him with wide eyes, “Uh, he's right here, give a second”.
“What?”, he mouthed, confused by his twin’s odd behavior.
It took him like two seconds, but Osamu smiled at him and gestured to the phone.
“Tsumu, the Black Jackals’ manager is on the phone”.
Never had Atsumu ever moved that fast in his life. He had got up and dashed to yank the phone from his brother’s hands.
“Yeah, I’m Miya Atsumu”.
The next few minutes were mostly a blur for him, if it wasn’t for Osamu taking note of everything the man over the phone was explaining, he’s sure he wouldn’t have known what he needed to do after today.
His waiting time was over, MSBY had finally reached out to him after almost a year and a half to hire him for the team. His long awaited dream was finally coming true.
There was still one puzzle piece missing, though.
“Tsumu! This is huge!”, his brother congratulated, shaking him from the shoulders as Atsumu stayed still, processing what had just happened, “We have to tell Ma, she’ll be so happy. I’m so happy right now, damn it”.
Osamu kept babbling about how big this news was and so on, recalling what MSBY’s manager had told Atsumu, about how excited they were for him to join them and such.
But he could only think about one sole thing.
Yes, he has managed to get on a team, he’ll start next month. In Osaka, he’ll have to move there.
That means less time at home, less time without Osamu.
Osamu, who will probably stay here after he graduates. Osamu, his twin that hasn’t been separated from him for more than a week since they were born. Osamu, the stupid bastard that doesn’t want to play volleyball with him anymore.
Atsumu is finally moving forward with his career.
He should be thrilled about it, and he kinda is, but he can’t seem to enjoy the moment properly. Not when he knows this only means they’ll keep drifting apart.
“Aw, Tsumu. Don’t cry, this is good news!”.
Oh, was that the noise he was hearing? Himself crying?
“These are happy tears, scrub…”, he choked out, letting himself be enveloped in a hug, “This is the best fucking day of my life, can’t ya see?”.
“Right, happy tears…”.
If Atsumu cried harder after he burrowed his head on Osamu’s shoulder as the younger one cuddled him, that was between himself, his brother and God.
Third Year of College / First Year of MSBY, 21 years old
It’s not like he was a crybaby all the time, contrary to what everyone else says.
Yeah, he does whine when things don’t go his way, and he’s moved to tears pretty easily, but it’s not like he cries every single day.
If he does sniffle here and there to Osamu in their daily check ups, it proves nothing.
To be completely fair, those video calls were his brother’s idea. Or well, kinda. They had been missing each other more than what they would have liked to admit, so Osamu had called him one night, just to have a little chat with him as they did all the time before going to bed.
So it was just them talking as they did mundane things.
Like tonight, where Osamu is working on some of his assignments while Atsumu is reviewing his schedule for next month.
“I think I’ll visit ya and Ma in two weeks, scrub”, he recalls, jutting his lip out, “Although, it would be just for the weekend. I have a few games that I need to-”.
He had been so caught up on what he had to say that he had left his screen unattended, so he didn’t realize that Osamu was in the frame, silently letting his tears stream down his face.
It’s not that his brother was insensible or stoic, he did cry and had his vulnerable moments. But he never shows it, or at least tries to hide it from everyone else.
Including Atsumu.
“Samu?! What happened?!”, he yelped, widening his eyes in astonishment, “Oi, are ya okay?”.
“I can’t”, the younger mumbles, shutting his laptop out only to yank his own hair in clear distress, “I just can’t…”.
“Ya can’t what? What’s going on?”, he urged to know, getting angsty himself, “Samu, ya idiot, talk to me”.
His brother breathed in and out a couple times, trying to calm himself enough to answer.
Each second that went by made Atsumu more restless, as he could hear his twin choking on his own spit as he sobbed. Seeing Osamu like this…is not something he’s used to.
After a while, the younger one seemed a little more put together.
“Sorry, I’m just stressed”, his twin tried to play off, clearing his throat as if his voice didn't sound hoarse as shit, “I think I’ll go to bed. Sorry Tsumu, keep telling me more about yer visit tomorrow, yeah?”.
Atsumu scoffed, and glared right back at his brother.
“Ya think I’ll pretend that didn’t just happen? Fuck ya, stupid brother”. he scolded, making Osamu huff in frustration, “Don’t give me an attitude, mister. Tell me what’s going on, on that airhead mind of yers”.
Prying Osamu’s discomfort out of his mouth wasn’t that hard. All he had to do was threaten him that he would call Kita to pay him a visit. That alone was enough to make Osamu start talking.
Apparently, his twin had been feeling weighed down for a long while, since starting his current semester. He met people that are more talented than him, professors became stricter, his grades started dropping a little…
In conclusion, Osamu was going through it, and it came to the point that he’s not sure he chose the right decision for his life.
“Maybe I should have listened to ya all along”, his twin sniffled with a self-deprecating smile, “I should have stayed with volleyball, it was easier”.
This could be an insanely good opportunity for Atsumu. Maybe this was the breakthrough he needed for Osamu to come back to him volleyball.
For some reason, Atsumu himself feels conflicted.
On one hand, he can try to convince Osamu that yeah, he could still change careers and make a life for himself in a known team. While the younger one doesn't play as much anymore, whenever Atsumu begs him to, they practice together, and Osamu is still in good shape.
On the other hand, he has never seen Osamu so…devastated as he did right now. He seemed ready to bolt, ready to leave everything he had worked hard for, all that just for his insecurities.
Osamu was always worried about how other people perceived him, contrary to Atsumu who couldn’t care less about what some randoms thought about him. But his younger brother was not like him.
Every little comment or pointed look made Osamu self-conscious, even if he didn’t show it outwardly. Atsumu knows him well enough to catch when it happens.
So all this bullshit that he ‘can’t do it’ is just Osamu’s own head messing with him.
“Listen up, ya dumbass”, he regained his twin’s attention before the other hung up, “I didn’t break my back helping ya with all yer shit for college, just for ya to give up without even starting yer damn business yet! Pick yerself up and deal with it!”.
“But-”.
“No, shut yer mouth. I’m talking!”, he scolded again, huffing and glaring at his brother’s sad pixelated frame, “If ya don’t gain enough confidence in yer damn talent, I’ll take a train right now to knock some sense into ya, ya hear me?”.
“Don’t test me, Miya Osamu, I’m being so serious”, that made his brother laugh a little, so Atsumu’s own gaze softened slightly, “Still, Samu, ya have already come so far on yer own…ya have accomplished a lot more than anyone I know at our age!”.
“It wasn’t on my own…And ya are a successful starting volleyball player!”, Osamu reminded him with a chuckle, “Yer the most successful between us”.
“Fuck that, yer gonna be richer than me once ya opened yer stupid restaurant, I’m sure”, he scoffed, but he couldn’t fight the smile that crept up to his face, “But that shit takes time, so take one step at the time, yeah?”.
Osamu finally seemed more relaxed, and while Atsumu knows it’ll take time for his dumb little head to completely absorb everything they just talked about, he’s sure he’ll get there eventually.
“Okay…thanks, Tsumu”, Osamu whispered, rubbing his eyes, “That did actually help a lot”.
“Anytime, scrub…”.
He may have lost his biggest opportunity to pull Osamu back into volleyball life, but for some reason, Atsumu found that it didn’t quite matter anymore.
Fourth Year of College / Second Year of MSBY, 22 years old
Atsumu was absent from his final game for the season’s tournament. He didn’t care about his manager’s warnings, or the public’s opinion.
His brother was graduating, this was way more important than a simple qualifier’s game.
Osamu had complained, and told him that it was fine, he didn’t have to come if he had something else.
But who would embarrass Osamu by rooting for him as he went to retrieve his diploma by screaming and jumping from the crowd?
Their mother had been so happy too, crying as she took pictures of Osamu. She also took some pictures with herself and Atsumu. Her favorite was one in which Atsumu tried to envelop his twin in a big bear hug, as Osamu struggled to get away from him.
Most of their friends from Inarizaki were there too.
Aran, Kita, Suna, Ginjima, even Oomimi and Akagi. All of them were also cheering for Osamu.
What did surprise Atsumu though, was when fucking Sakusa Kiyoomi, also clad in a graduation attire, came to congratulate his brother too.
“Miya”, he greeted boredly when Atsumu approached them, “I’ll be seeing you soon enough”.
He left after that ominous threat, and Atsumu felt that he was missing something.
“He’s joining MSBY next month”, Osamu had supplied.
Oh, playing with Omi-kun? Now this just keeps getting interesting.
When the ceremony was over, their mom took them for a celebratory dinner, just as she had done when Atsumu joined his team.
Osamu was happy as long as there was food, so it honestly was a good call.
Atsumu had his own gift for the other, but it was a little embarrassing to admit.
“I have to take this call”, their mom had excused herself from the table, leaving them two alone.
He glances as his brother’s pleased face, and wonders for a moment if Osamu would accept his gift.
“Remember the savings we had since middle school?”.
“Didn’t we use them to buy new phones?”.
“I mean, yeah, but I started saving again, just separately. I know ya did too”, he explains, getting himself a nod, “Are ya close to yer goal?”.
Osamu hums, nodding his head.
“Kinda, yeah. It’s not the place I wanted, but it’s good enough for now”, he recalls, twitching his lips in a smile, “I got the truck all repaired, so there’s also that. Maybe in a year I can finally open the restaurant”.
Of course, he had driven his brother around been dragged by Osamu to look for locations for rentals to locate his future workplace.
The one his brother liked the most had been way out of his budget, even for rent, so he had probably conformed with what he could afford at the moment.
But for Atsumu that won’t do.
His brother deserves the very best.
“Wanna see what I got ya?”, he offers, getting up from their table to ask the waiter for them to take their food to go, “We’ll have to drive for a while though”.
“What about Ma?”.
“She will understand”.
The drive was a little over forty minutes long, and Osamu was getting suspicious on where they were heading. That was until they parked right in front of the building he had liked the most.
“What are we doing here?”, the younger asked, confused by the turn of events, “Weren’t ya gonna give me a present, scrub?”.
“Right…and before I do, please know that there are no refunds, so don’t try to give it back!”, he warns, digging in his pocket and retrieving a key that he hands Osamu, “I expect limitless free food for this by the way, just letting ya know”.
His brother pouts as he examines the thing, blinking confusedly at him.
Until it dawns on him.
They were standing right in front of the place he liked, the ‘on sale’ sign that had it nowhere in sight, and Atsumu handed him a key with a small keychain.
It was a volleyball keychain of course.
“What’s this?”, Osamu chokes out, his eyes watering slightly, “Tsumu, what’s this?”.
He refuses to keep eye contact, scuffing his foot on the ground.
“What does it look like, scrub?”, he mocks, snorting and trying to hide his embarrassment, “It’s a key. Ya graduated already, ya should be smarter now”.
They keep quiet for a while, Atsumu waiting for Osamu’s reaction and Osamu waiting for Atsumu’s clarification.
“Is this a joke?”, his brother tried to laugh it off, but he sounded way too in disbelief, “Tsumu, I can’t accept-”.
“I already told ya”, he grumbles, “I can’t get a refund, this is yers now. Go check it out, or whatever”.
He goes inside with his brother, as he marvels at the place yet again.
It was a two-story building, with a small apartment of sorts on the top one and a spacious one at the bottom. It was perfect for Osamu’s restaurant.
With this gift, Atsumu expected no praise of sorts, he was only doing this to help push the scrub forward with his dream, even if he was still not fully on board with it.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel accomplished with himself when Osamu pulled him in for a hug this time.
“Tsumu, I…”.
“Don’t force yerself, I know”, he reassured, ruffling his hair softly, “I do too…”.
Sometimes words were not necessary between them.
Osamu was happy with this, so if his brother is happy, Atsumu is too.
“I’m still not giving ya free food, though”.
Atsumu kicks him in the shin. Fuck that scrub.
First Year of Onigiri Miya / Third Year of MSBY, 23 years old
As an athlete, when the season is over he still has to practice and attend sponsorship deals and such. But there are times in which those deals run dry and he needs some extra money to save for his first anniversary gift to Kiyoomi.
His boyfriend told him he didn’t want anything too extra, but Atsumu has never been good at listening.
So here he was, grown ass man little boy Atsumu back to his roots, as a delivery boy for his brother’s restaurant.
Onigiri Miya was flourishing pretty quickly.
At first, something that worried both was the fact that some people might only visit for the fact that Osamu was the twin brother of starting Black Jackals setter Miya Atsumu. But most locals and even visitors didn’t even know Atsumu had any siblings.
Osamu wasn’t really a public figure, and while Atsumu is loud on social media and such, he never brings up his private life.
However, there was nothing to worry about, as customers came and stayed solely for the food. Sure, there were a few of Atsumu’s fans that found out his brother ran the restaurant, but every single one of them were polite enough and didn’t give his brother a hard time.
Anyone who tastes Osamu’s food gets captivated by it.
Osamu’s recipes got better too, after he started acquiring rice from Kita’s farm, as they are business partners now.
Business was good, so now Atsumu would accept his payment. This time he has a scooter, so it gets easier and faster to deliver the orders. Most of the customers are regular clients who are not in tune with the volleyball scene, so more often than not, people tend to not recognize him.
Which is such a shame, he looks pretty damn good in his new uniform.
And a huge bonus is that Osamu didn’t keep his taunt of not giving him free food. After every delivery, a delicious onigiri waits for him in the staff room.
His twin is there too right now, on his break most likely.
“Back already?”, Osamu prompted with a sigh, plopping down on the couch, “That was fast”.
“Ya should hire me as yer permanent delivery boy, Samu!”.
“Aren’t ya happy with volleyball anymore?”, he joked, as he slid his hat over his face to probably get a quick power nap.
A few years back, Atsumu would probably have been irked by the remark, but now he just laughs it off.
“Nah, I’ll leave the whole food business to ya”, he amends, joining his brother and snatching his reward for a good job today, “If I ever get injured or fired, ya hafta hire me, though”.
Osamu, who was dozing off on his spot, lifted his hat just slightly to look at him confusedly.
For some reason, all the memories of those times that Atsumu had complained about Osamu’s career choice came back to him. Dread pooling in his gut, now that he recalls just how mean he was to him.
He was petty, and so distraught by the fact that they were drifting apart that he blamed it all on Osamu and his dreams.
So now, he’s afraid that he himself was the reason they were actually getting farther and farther away.
If he had unknowingly pushed Osamu away…he wouldn’t even bear to entertain the idea of forgiving himself.
But his brother still talks to him. Still plays along with his shenanigans. Still calls him every week, and texts him everyday.
Still calls him his favorite person. Even above Sunarin!
Samu is still Samu, even if he had changed. Even if Atsumu was a jerk to him for a long while.
He feels awful, but his twin just smiles at him as if nothing was ever wrong.
“I don’t hafta hire ya, scrub”, the younger chuckled, covering his face back up to sleep, “This place is also yers”.
That makes Atsumu laugh.
“If it is, let me sign the papers”, he plays along, “I want my name also on the logo”.
“It kinda already is”, it’s his drowsy answer, but Atsumu frowns in confusion, “That’s why it’s called ‘Onigiri Miya’ in the first place”.
It had to be a joke.
Osamu is probably just spewing out shit as he is sleepy, right?
He can’t be serious.
“What do ya mean by that?”, he demanded, picking up the hat to search in his brother’s face any hint that he was just messing around, “Surely you just named it that for our family name, right?”.
But Osamu just blinks his eyes open, and smiles at him.
“It’s called ‘Miya’ because it’s also yers”, his twin confesses casually, as if he just hasn't said his whole life’s hard work and effort was for Atsumu too, “I don’t know if yer aware, but I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for yer help, Tsumu…So the restaurant ain’t just mine. It’s for us both, even if ya don’t want it, it will always be here for ya. If ya retire, or need a part-time job, I will be here, waiting”.
Atsumu blinked at him, his mind still can’t comprehend all this newfound information.
Before he could even let out an unintelligent ‘huh’, one of Osamu’s employees came to the staff room in a hurry.
“Sorry, boss, but there are a few big orders for takeout", the young boy had said, looking painfully apologetic, “I know you're on your break, but…”.
His twin sighs as he rises to his feet, cracking his back as he gears back into action.
“Sorry, Tsumu. We’ll talk later, okay?”, he assured him with a smile, “Ya can take yer break, I’ll call ya if something comes up”.
He disappeared into the kitchen before he could ask him anything about it.
Atsumu slumps back into his seat, overwhelmed by those short five minutes.
That can’t be, he must have heard wrong.
There was no way his twin would ever share his dream with him like that, not when Atsumu continues to bring up the lost future Osamu left behind when he decided to quit volleyball.
Atsumu still doesn’t understand how this fulfills Osamu more than volleyball. In his mind there’s no way that’s possible.
Yeah, he supports his brother, and yeah, he has helped him achieve a lot of stuff for his own dreams. But how can he comprehend his brother’s mind?
He gets up, and follows him back into the shop to give him a piece of his mind, only to come face to face with the scene of his brother serving an order for a whole family.
How his twin’s eyes light up, not when he receives compliments, but rather when he can see how much people are enjoying his craft.
Osamu smiles, and only then does it dawn on Atsumu that as the years went by, Osamu does look happier than ever, he’s literally glowing right now.
And is at that moment that he finally gets it.
He doesn’t need to know why Osamu prefers this more than volleyball, he doesn’t need to be given any explanation whatsoever.
All he needs is to know that his twin is satisfied with his life, and if he is, then what does Atsumu have to complain about?
He still misses playing with him, probably always will, but warmth spreads around his chest as he can finally make peace with his brother’s decision.
Onigiri Miya was Osamu’s dream, one that he was willing to share with Atsumu, just as he had done with volleyball.
They had never drifted apart, they were closer than ever.