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Lev was known to be affectionate. Maybe the most affectionate player on the team. It wasn’t unusual for him to shout “I love you, __” to his friends and even upperclassmen during stretches or before leaving. At first, Yaku found the bouts rather strange, especially since Nekoma was a team, not some cringy found family in a show. Although, some could disagree. A prime example was Inouka, another of his junior on the team. He happily reciprocated Lev’s feelings with a cheer or fist bump, or on a good day, a verbal response!
Similar to Yaku, Kai and Kuroo also couldn’t help but feel awkward about their underclassmen confessing his platonic love for them everyday without fail. While Kai would either ignore it or nod, Kuroo handled it differently.
”Lev, stop it! You’re being mushy!” he would shout, looking stupid embarrassed as he clutched Lev’s jacket collar.
Lev would share a dopey face of his own, except displaying a confused expression. “B-b-but Kuroo san, I’m not lying! I do love you!”
Kenma and Fukunaga would ignore it or nod respectively. Shibayama just smiled. Usually, in a good mood, Yamamato would reply, “Of course you do! Who wouldn’t!”
As Lev grew to learn more about his team, his affection became even more lax. As of a week ago, it was hugging. Again, Inuoka, Yamamato, and Shibayama joyfully embraced the Russian. Yaku, on the other hand, made many more boundaries. “During practice, Lev wasn’t allowed to touch him unless it was regarding volleyball.” was a strict rule he set. “No touching faces.” was another.
But just because he established these laws didn’t mean Lev followed them. Multiple times a day, Lev would run over like a kidnapper with his slender arms spread out wide across his body, and engulf Yaku in a hug. Well, actually, a hug was most likely an understatement. It was a full-on cuddle. He would nestle his face in Yaku’s strawberry blonde hair or squeeze his torso until it felt like his ribs were cracking. It was worse when Yaku was sitting down or leaned over, as then he was more or less at a disadvantage because Lev would lay on top of his hate-to-admit smaller body, practically deforming his spine. On the days that happened, Lev left the gym with a huge bruise on his bottom.
”Be patient, Yakkun! He’s just a kid, so he probably doesn’t know his own strength.” Kuroo had to remind him while he massaged Yaku’s aching form.
That always pissed him off more since he told Lev, nicely or aggressively, how much he hated it. “Kuroo, I swear it’s on purpose! How many times do I have to tell that tin-headed titan for it to stick in his brain, if he has one at all!” Yaku snapped back.
However, just because his boundaries were usually ignored doesn’t necessarily mean they weren’t needed. Why? Because Lev was already considering kissing. Absolutely not. Sometimes, he did feel bad for Lev. His height came with as many disadvantages as it did disadvantages. One of them was how sore his back became when he tried to hug someone shorter than him. His back occasionally became so stiff that he couldn’t engage in his beloved sport!
”Alright, I’ll see you at practice tomorrow! Love you Kenma, san, Fukunaga san, Yaku san, Yamamato San, Kuroo san, Kai san!” Lev listed methodically, which was becoming much easier as time passed, as he put on his coat.
Kenma waved him off dismissively while Kuroo flashed his creepy grin. Lev trotted off, humming a small tune to himself as he did. As soon as he turned the corner, Kuroo announced to everyone.
”Guys, what are we getting for Lev’s birthday tomorrow?”
Everyone groaned.
Kuroo put a hand on his hip in disappointment. “Nuh uh. We are Lev’s upperclassmen and we also have been in Nekoma longer than he has. We need to provide a good example for what good senpai should be!”
”I’ll just…get him a card…” Kenma sighed with little enthusiasm as he slipped on his sneakers. Yamamato and Shibayama nodded quickly after him. Kuroo scowled at that.
Inuoka clenched his fist in front of his face as he beamed fiercely. “I may not be Lev’s senpai, but I can still show him what a good friend I am! A lifetime supply oinarisan!” he declared, his voice echoing through the gym. A bonk from a certain rooster head shut him up real quick.
Fukunaga raised his arms in the air. “He will surely be delighted, like Turkish Delights!” he pitched in with his own idea. Everyone raised an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting about it. They were mostly used to his (un)funny sense of humor.
Probably one of the most normal people on the team, Kai, smiled cheerfully as he zipped up his gym bag. “I think I will get him a gift card to that bakery he likes going to.”
“Yes, amazing!” Kuroo beamed at the suggestion.
Yaku shrugged in response. “Decent. I’ll get a stool.”
”Not so amazing! He doesn’t need a stool, Lev’s 6’4 something for goodness’s sakes.”
”No, you imbecile! Why would I get it for him? It’s for me!”
Kuroo was left speechless and utterly confused. His index finger that had been lifted in the air since long ago faltered quickly, as if it had been deflated. “Yakkun, you do know the point of a birthday gift for someone else is to give it to someone else, right?…”
Yaku almost rolled his eyes at that as he stormed to the locker room. “Just shut it already! Of course I know that!!”
”Well, I have to get going! See you later, Demon-Agh! I mean Yaku senpai!” Inuoka squeaked with excitement. (or fear?…). He turned to Kuroo and bowed respectfully before dashing off. Shibayama, Kenma, Yamamato, and Fukunaga followed suit.
Yaku glared at his underclassmen as he watched them take off for the hills, stumbling and rolling around like toddlers learning to walk for the first time. “They look almost as sloppy as Lev!” he remarked. Turning back to Kuroo with an unimpressed gaze, he continued, “Speaking of, you’re acting so judgy with the teams’ presents, but what are you going to get for Lev?”
Kuroo sighed dramatically. “Oh my dear Yakkun..l-“ a harsh smack. “Ow…and what I was going to say…is that my present may be too glorious for your eyes. Your pupils alone could set fire to my beautiful gift like a thousand suns times ten!” another smack.
”Well, whatever, Mr. Edgar Allen Poe. We’ll see whose gift he likes better.”
“With the way you react to his PDA, maybe he won’t like anything you get him…”
The day came and Lev was happily whistling a tune as he skipped to the club room. He had woken up to his bedroom covered in colorful balloons and the smell of oinarisan. His sister had spent all night decorating the house for the special day, which he was immensely grateful for. The mochi she made was delicious and so was his breakfast. Before school, she even took him to that bakery and bought anything he wanted.
Now, he was walking to the club room with his hands filled with his older sister’s gifts, feeling quite joyful about his day. So imagine his face when he swung open the door, ready to greet his friends, but instead was greeted himself with even more balloons and the Nekoma Volleyball Team, excluding Kenma, jumping out to surprise him.
Lev could almost cry. “Wow, you guys did all this!?” all this referring to 4 balloons and a lopsided banner that spelled “H.B.L.H” in an almost dried out marker. That was all the effort Kenma could put in at eight in the morning. Besides, it wasn’t like Lev could tell the difference between a ski resort and a patch of snow in the front of his yard anyway.
”Of course, you giant! Kuroo replied excitedly, tousling Lev’s neat silver hair. “Now, we only have 15 minutes until practice, so go ahead and open your presents.”
Lev kicked off his shoes and jackets and accepted each gift one of his friends were holding with a thanks and a hug. He opened Inuoka’s first. It was a small pack of oinarisan.
“There are five in there, so if you take one bite every 18 months, they should last until after college!” Inuoka proudly explained, “Shibayama helped me with the math!”
Everyone cringed in disgust, but Lev cheered with excitement. “That’s a genius way to preserve your gift and make it last, Inuoka! I love it!”
Inuoka subtly flashed a teasing face at Kuroo, which angered the other and immediately shoved him back. “That’s a nice gift, Lev, but now open mine!”
Lev raised an eyebrow. “But I was about to open Fuk-“
”That’s a command.”
”Yes sir!”
Lev unwrapped Kuroo’s present hesitantly, but Kuroo’s warm smile made him relax a little bit after the harsh order. Ripping off the last of the paper, he was confused to find a Siamese cat that looked as if it was frozen in time. Its fur was soft, yet ragged, its piercing green eyes stared straight ahead into Lev’s soul, and its lanky limbs stuck out in different directions.
Yaku looked unimpressed. “Is that a…bad taxidermy cat?.
“Yep! Paid my older sister 12 dollars to make it.” Kuroo answered proudly.
Kenma gazed up from his game for a moment and audibly gasped in shock when he saw the skinny taxidermy standing on its paws with little balance, then turned to Kuroo with his usual tired expression. “You didn’t pay your sister enough or she just hates Lev and you.”
”Kuroo san, for some reason, I’m more surprised that you have a sister than this taxidermy.” Lev stated dumbfounded. Everyone nodded in agreement. They couldn’t expect less from their scheming captain.
”Shut up!”
Lev got three cards —only one genuinely heartfelt— from Shibayama, Yamamoto, and Kenma, a gift card from Kai, Turkish Delights from Fukunaga, and a kitten from Teshiro.
“A kitten, Teshiro?! That makes our gift look lame now!!”
”Well, Yamamoto san, a birthday card isn’t exactly a hard thing to top…”
”I GOT A KITTEN! I’LL SHOW SIS WHEN I GO HOME! I’LL NAME HIM…KENMA! HE DID THE MOST!”
”WHAT?!”
As everyone dressed in their respective jerseys and left for the gym, Yaku pulled Lev aside, “Hey, you. I didn’t give you my present.”
Lev radiated with excitement. “Oh, Yaku san! If it’s your present, then why would you give it me?! I mean,” he giggled, “If you assist!”
”No, I mean it is your present but it’s mine because I bought- y’know what, nevermind.” Yaku sighed as he opened his locker, pulling out a tall wooden stool. Lev was puzzled by the strange gift, considering he probably didn’t need to add any more inches to his already monstrously impressive height, until Yaku instead stepped on to it.
”Uh, Yaku? I’m not understanding…” Lev started as Yaku spread his arms out in front of him.
A faint blush made its way to Yaku’s cheeks. “Idiot…come here….”
All of a sudden, everything clicked. Lev darted towards Yaku and embraced the shorter tightly, except his head that originally laid buried in Yaku’s hair, was now only at his chest. His back didn’t hurt anymore. He didn’t have to crane his neck in an attempt to properly hug someone. For the first time, Yaku held him in his arms.
”Happy birthday, Lev.”