Work Text:
“Kageyama!” Shouyou yells through the phone, voice crackling through the speaker. His face takes up the entire phone screen.
“What do you want?” Tobio responds, moving text books around his desk so he can prop his phone up.
“I really really really really need your help” Shouyou said, words coming out rushed, “I need to study.”
Tobio just stared at Shouyou, at a loss for words, he blinked, opening his mouth and then shutting it again. Shouyou huffed, setting his phone down, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest.
“Come on, say something , Bakayama,” he whined, he grabbed a pen off the desk and began fidgeting with it. Tobio finally sighed and leaned forwards, elbow resting on his desk and his face resting against his hand.
“You needed help studying and called me ?” Tobio asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion, "You could have asked Yachi, or Yamaguchi or even Tsukishima-”
“I would never willingly ask Stupidshima for anything, first of all!” Shouyou interrupted, leaning forward and slamming his hand down on his desk, causing his phone to shake slightly though not enough to knock it over, “and second of all, it’s not that I need help with the questions, I just…” Shouyou shrugged, looking off to the side and grabbing the pen, clicking it absentmindedly.
“I need someone to be with me while I study,” He finished, satisfied with the way he explained himself, he leaned back and looked at Tobio through the phone.
“I understand, i guess,” Tobio hummed, he did need to study and was planning on putting it off until the next day.
“A-and besides” Shouyou stammered, he looked off to the side, Tobio watched curiously and a deep blush suddenly bloomed brightly on Shouyou’s cheeks, “I thought since you’re my boyfriend now that, i-it would be best to ask you and stuff.”
It took Tobio a few seconds to process his words before a matching blush took over his face, he could barely stammer out a dumbass before he hid his face. They had been dating for a month now and Tobio couldn’t get used to these new feelings.
“Having someone here with me just helps me get my work done and I like your company,” Shouyou mumbled, tangling his fingers together. Tobio looked forward at the phone and cleared his throat, making him look forward, wide eyes scanning his face.
“Yeah th-that’s fine I needed to study anyway so,” Tobio said, Shouyou cheered loudly, voice cutting off slightly due to the noise and grabbed his books. Tobio did the same, gathering his english textbook and notes, sorting them on the desk and grabbing his pen.
“Thank you, Tobio,” Shouyou said gently, a soft smile gracing his features. Tobio wasn't used to that look, the soft affectionate smile that Shouyou reserves just for him, his dark honey eyes softening and glowing. It gave him butterflies and made him want to curl in on himself, it made him feel vulnerable and scared and it made his heart beat out of his chest.
Tobio looked down at his textbook to hide his red face, “Yeah, sure, dumbass,” he mumbled, glancing up subtlety to make sure Shouyou was studying before he quickly wiped at his eyes, willing away the small tears that threatened to spill over.
Hopefully one day he’ll know what to do with all the feelings that he has for this boy.
Tobio pressed the call button, setting up his phone and making sure both him and the stove were in frame. After two rings, he was greeted by Shouyou’s face taking up the entire phone screen.
“Tobio!” Shouyou greeted, the screen blurred and wobbled as Shouyou set up the camera. When he finally had it propped up Tobio saw his ingredients and pots messily thrown about, a huge beaming smile was thrown his way.
“Are you ready?” Tobio said, looking down at his ingredients and making sure he has everything prepared. Confirming everything was prepared he looked up at Shouyou who was also looking around, he quickly ran to the side off the screen. Tobio heard the sound of a fridge open, the quiet sound of jars clicking and rustling crackled through his phone speakers. A happy, far away ‘aha!’ followed by the fridge door closing. Shouyou appeared on the small phone screen again holding up a small carton of eggs.
“Okay, I'm ready now!” Shouyou yelled, they both counted down from 3 until they began. Today they were doing a cooking competition. They are making the same dish and seeing who can make it faster. Earlier both of them had chosen one dish, Tobio had chosen his favourite pork curry which Shouyou has made before while SHouyou went for a Brazilian dish that he’s been wanting to make, Feijoada. Tobio had won the coin toss which he was relieved by, he didn't quite know how to make the dish and he really wanted to win this.
After a quick countdown they both began their competition, They both began fairly evenly, starting by washing their rice and letting it sit for a while and they began cutting vegetables. Both of them had been cooking since highschool but Tobio had been preparing and cooking his own food for longer than Shouyou. While they managed to keep up with each other, Tobio pulled ahead with the vegetable chopping, finishing quickly and turning on his stove to heat up his pan and oil.
While Tobio began cooking his vegetables, Shouyou started heating up his pan. Lighthearted taunts and insults were thrown around to each other, drowned out by their following laughter. Shouyou caught up when Tobio spilled his coconut milk and had to quickly run to the fridge and get some more, so it all would come down to plating, they were both waiting for their sauces to reduce.
“Why did you choose something for dinner, shouldn't you have chosen something for breakfast?” Shouyou questions, after he comes back from checking on his curry, leaning into his phone screen, Tobio looks back at his phone, not expecting the question.
“Well, yeah but… It’s not breakfast for you… so…” He looked away, using his sauce as an excuse to not look at his boyfriend, knowing that his cheeks were heating up.
“Awww Tobio,” Shouyou cooed, “You wanted me to eat a good meal for dinner? That's so sweet” Tobio could hear the smile in his voice despite not looking at him at all. Through all of Shouyou’s teasing remarks, Tobio realised his sauce had finished and quickly got into action, plating the rice and scooping the curry onto his plate.
“Hey! No fair, that's cheating!” Shouyou yelled, voice getting drowned out by the frantic sound of plates banging together.
“Done!” Tobio announced, placing his curry in front of his phone. Shouyou groaned, taking a bit longer to also place his plate in front of the phone. Tobio watched as he defeatedly placed his meal in front of the phone, his was plated less clumsily than Tobio’s given he had the extra few seconds to spare. Shouyou pouts at Tobio, leaning forward closer to the screen.
“You cheated ,” Shouyou whined, “You distracted me with your stupid nice actions just so you can get ahead.”
Tobio chuckled, looking at his pouting boyfriend, his heart started beating faster, a pleasant warm feeling spread from his chest to the rest of his body, leaving him feel light and floaty.
“Tobio?” Shouyou asked, getting his attention back. He scanned his boyfriend's face who was now moving his plate of food and phone to his table so he could settle and eat, “Are you gonna eat with me?”
Tobio nodded silently, a bit too overwhelmed to speak, he cleaned up his space and moved to the table, grabbing food more suitable for breakfast to eat. He was still getting used to these feelings he felt for Shouyou, still overwhelming as they are, he could feel himself not quite getting used to the feelings but understanding them a bit more, they scared him less and more confirmed that he had made the right decision.
Tobio propped up his phone on the wall, getting his weights set up, he looked at the phone, frowning slightly. He was used to seeing his boyfriends face take up the entire phone screen when he answers the phone but all he’s currently seeing is the ceiling of the MSBY gym.
“Are ya gonna go flirt with yer boyfriend?” Tobio heard Atsumu tease Shouyou as the rest of the MSBY team left their gym. He heard Shouyou’s loud ‘yep!’ pick up on the phone speaker despite him being far away, gathering weights. Atsumu’s face popped into view, smirking down and waving at him. Tobio waved back.
“Hey Tobio-kun! How’re ya doin’?” Atsumu said before a hand comes from off screen and pushes him, an orange blur comes into view before the phone is picked up and being placed against a wall, Tobio hears Atsumu laughing before watching him leave the gym in the background. Shouyou popped into frame and smiled at Tobio, putting down the weight that he was holding. Tobio released a small smile, finally seeing his boyfriends face and feeling relaxed.
“Sorry about that,” Shouyou laughed, fidgeting with his fingers, he leaned back stretching before his workout.
“How was your practice match?” Tobio asked, mirroring the stretch that Shouyou was doing.
“It was great!” Shouyou beamed, leaning forward and smiling, recounting the practice match the MSBY had against EJP Raijin, they’re a fierce team with an amazing receive, Tobio was getting fired up just hearing about it.
“And at the end, Suna-san got into a fight with Atsumu-san. It was so funny, Omi-san and Komori-san had to drag them apart!” Shouyou laughed, leaning forward, sighing and looking into Tobio’s eyes.
He felt a crawling feeling run down his spine, into his arms ending at his fingers, he itched to reach out and touch, to hold.
“I'm excited,” Tobio started, the words falling out of his mouth before he even had time to think about it, “for our practice match against you.”
“Me too!” Shouyou exclaimed, sitting up straighter, his eyes shining with excitement, “It’s gonna be such a great match!”
Tobio nods to Shouyou’s words and picks up a dumbbell to begin their workout together. He looked at Shouyou through the small screen on the phone and let the longing sit in his heart for a little longer. He understood how he felt now but the distance made it harder. To finally understand the magnitude of your feelings but have no way to act on them hurts.
“I-I’m excited to see you,” Tobio says, averting his gaze and swallowing hard, too embarrassed to look at Shouyou as he says those words. He’s not used to being up front with his thoughts and how he feels.
“I’m excited to see you too,” Shouyou says, smiling his usual lovestruck smile that he saves only for Tobio. Tobio takes a look back and feels the heavy weight of love settle in his chest and warm him up.
“I’m also excited to beat you in our practice matches,” Tobio smirks, watching Shouyou’s quick shift from loving to competitive.
“Ha! You wish!”
Tobio grabbed his phone, a small smile gracing his face, Shouyou’s name at the top of his screen showing a picture of both of them, a picture taken three years ago when they took a trip to Brazil, Tobio sat down with a small stray kitten curled up in his lap, Shouyou sitting next to him absolutely beaming at Tobio, the kittens mother gently cradled in his arms.
“Hey Shou,” Tobio said softly as he answered the call, Shouyou’s face took up his entire phone screen, beaming at Tobio as he greeted him through the phone screen.
“Tobi!” Shouyou said loudly, voice cutting off slightly because of the noise. Tobio just chuckles, amused at his boyfriend's actions. No matter how many times they facetime, Shouyou's reaction is always the same excited yelling after answering the call, always having his face too close to the screen and Tobio wouldn’t trade any of them for the world.
“I can’t believe we haven’t done this before seriously,” Shouyou spoke over the rustling of both their sheets as they got comfortable in bed, Tobio flopped down, ungraciously but he was exhausted from the day, he moved the phone off to the side of his bedside table, balancing it until he was sure it wouldn’t fall.
“I miss sleeping next to you.” Shouyou mumbled, face half hidden in his soft pillow, even though his face was half hidden and the room was dark, Tobio could still pick up the faint tinge of pink on Shouyou’s cheeks. Tobio hummed his agreement, eyes scanning on the little screen.
He desperately wanted to stay awake for longer and talk before sleeping but He could feel his eyelids getting heavier, he stifled a yawn and Shouyou giggled in response before it got cut off with his own yawn.
“It’s pretty late, huh?” Shouyou whispered softly, settling into his bed, “We should get to bed.”
Tobio hummed, closing his eyes, “But I want to talk,” the words came out in a whisper. Shouyou rustled around in bed, grabbing his phone and bringing it closer to him.
“It’s okay, we can talk tomorrow,” Shouyou whispered, eyes wide and searching. Tobio brought a finger up to the screen, sleepily tracing Shouyou’s face, “And we’ll be together for your birthday, right?”
Tobio nodded, Shouyou smiled, accepting his answer and smiling brightly.
“Goodnight, Tobio,” Shouyou whispered, he brought the phone closer to his face, giving it an exaggerated kiss. He giggled, moving the phone back and propped it up. Shouyou snuggled further into his soft blanket, sighing contentedly. He opened his eyes slowly, a sleepy smile spreading on his face, “I love you.”
“Goodnight, I love you too,” Tobio whispered back, watching as Shouyou’s small smile got softer, his gaze more affectionate, his cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. It was a vulnerable, loving, gentle gaze that Tobio realised over and over again with the same amazement that that gaze is solely reserved for him.
As Shouyou snuggled into his comforter, closing his eyes and sighing, Tobio felt something familiar spread through his body, a feeling he’s felt multiple times in his life. His heartbeat sped up, his face felt hot, he felt vulnerable and soft and see through. If Shouyou were to open his eyes he would see all of Tobio’s thoughts and feelings floating around inside of him.
Though this time, he lacks the fear he once had. These feelings once scared Tobio, he thought his vulnerability made him weak, the unfamiliar feelings made him want to run far away, he had no idea what they meant and how to proceed, he wanted to make them go away but at the same time wanted to hold them close, fearing that they could disappear because more than anything he knew that these feelings were important to him, they connected him to Shouyou in a way that he only now understands.
They don’t scare him anymore, these flutters in his stomach excite him, the heat making him melt from the inside out, the gooey feelings leaking out sweet words that he doesn’t speak for anyone else, the weakness in his limbs, the itchiness to hold Shouyou close whenever they get to meet in person. They’re a testament to his relationship with his someone better, proof that after all these years they’re still perfect for each other, that he still loves him with the same ferocity that he uses when they play a match of volleyball against each other.
Tobio finally closed his heavy eyes, unwilling to look away from his boyfriend but excited for the future with him, his breathing evens out, steading him breathing and falling into a deep sleep, the knowledge that he would wake up and see his boyfriend next to him making him feel giddy.
He understands his feelings a lot more than when he was a teenager, but he knows he still has his whole life ahead of him to understand them fully, and he knows that Shouyou will be there with him every step of the way.