Chapter Text
Ever since he was a child, Agustin Bruno Loser had wished that he could have some sort of superpower. What kind? Well, that depended on the day that you had asked him. Some days he had wished that he had the power to control the weather and make it rain so heavily that he would not have to go to school. On other days, he had wished he had the power to control time so that he could keep sleeping on cold winter mornings without having to stress over rising late for the day. As an adult, having experienced the highs and lows of life and just how much it affected people, Agu nowadays wished that he had the power to hold people’s burdens for them. Maybe he wore his heart on his sleeve and maybe he was too emotional. But there was nothing more painful than watching the people he cared for crumble under the cruel weight of the world. Like right now, as he watched his best friend, Yuki, stare out the window in silence, none of his usual post-match energy present.
Agu had been trying to talk to the man ever since the end of the match, but the stubborn ass was doing everything he could to avoid him. He knew that being subbed off due to an injury was not something that athletes like them handled easily. They tended to beat themselves over it and then pushed themselves so that something similar did not happen the next time. But Yuki took the whole beating-himself-up aspect to a whole new level.
Agu saw it the moment he turned around to find his best friend on the floor. He could clearly read it in Yuki’s eyes, the resignation and worst of all, the self-hatred. He saw it in the way Yuki’s shoulders had slumped before he limped away to the benches. He read it in the stoic gaze on Yuki’s face after they had lost the match, just how much Yuki was blaming himself for the loss.
Agu knew that this self-hatred and disappointment ran much deeper than losing this one match. Ever since Japan had failed to qualify for the semifinals at the Olympics, Yuki had had this burden weighing down on him. Seeing him cry in front of the cameras, in front of his teammates, his juniors, Agu knew that the loss had scarred Yuki’s heart in a way that went beyond healing. Agu could only watch as the Japanese captain threw himself into training, bearing injury after injury and always itching to make his mark in any match they played. And Agu was so proud of him, cheering the loudest everytime Yuki was called on as the MVP of the match. But he also saw how weary the other man looked every time he did not make it to the starting six, fear at the thought of not being enough flashing for the briefest moment in his eyes.
The thing was, this was how Yuki had been throughout his life. He had fought tooth and nail to be seen, to be considered as an asset to any team. Volleyball had become the entire reason for his existence and he lived and breathed the sport to an extent that it seemed like an obsession. So his strict dietary regimens and downright cruel training routines were not new. That was how Yuki worked and Agu had no doubt that was how he’d continue to work. He built upon his failures and made them his armor. After all, that was how he was able to become one of the best outside hitters in the industry. But there was something else, something that Agu could not recognize much less understand, that made the older man look haggard. Something that was weighing down his soul and tightening the lines in his shoulders. And on days like today, when things did not go the way he wanted them to, Yuki seemed to be fighting a long, grueling battle on his own, one that was not apparent to the others around him.
Agu just wanted to talk to his friend. He would not force the other man to bare his soul open to him, but he wanted to at least try to understand what had caused this change in the athlete. But the damned idiot was refusing to even look at Agu, much less speak with him. Agu had planned to corner him on the bus home, but Yuki had placed his bag in the seat next to him, a clear sign to anyone that he wanted to be left alone. So Agu begrudgingly picked another seat, silently watching his friend spiral downwards into his thoughts. He was worried. He really was. He had never seen the man like this, so out of spirits and Agu was truly scared that there might be something seriously wrong with his friend. After all, physical injuries are not the only wounds that can hurt.
It seemed like the rest of the team was equally worried about the outside hitter as well. “What’s going on with Yuki?” inquired Giannelli, ever the intuitive captain. “I don’t know”, he sighed. “He’s been avoiding me”, he bit out, glaring at his best friend, who was oblivious to the conversation happening across from him. “You guys didn’t fight?”, questioned Giannelli. Agu turned to look at him incredulously.
“What? No! No, we did not fight. What gave you that idea?”
“Nothing, I was just making sure. ‘Cause it doesn’t seem like he is upset with just his performance tonight. It seems as though something else is taking up his mind, and I thought maybe you guys had argued or something”.
Agu let out a long breath through his nose. If the others were beginning to notice, then something was seriously up with Yuki. “No”, he sighed, “I think this has been going on for a little bit longer than we’ve noticed”. Giannelli nodded and patted his shoulder sympathetically. “Maybe I can try talking to him?”, the captain offered. Agu snorted. “Yuki? Talking about his feelings? Hell might freeze over before that happens”. Giannelli just looked over at Yuki with a worried glint in his eyes. Agu knew that this captain could probably understand Yuki’s struggles a little bit better than he himself did, but Yuki was stubborn when it came to being vulnerable. Unless and until there was no other way out, Yuki would not show even a single second of what he presumed to be weakness.
Agu could sense that Giannelli was gearing himself up to go and speak with Yuki. So he lay his hand over Giannelli’s forearm and shook his head. “Let him come to us. There’s no point in forcing that stubborn idiot”. Giannelli could do nothing but plop back into his seat with a heavy sigh. Everyone on the bus knew how hard-headed Yuki could be and while that tendency did wonders for them where volleyball was concerned, it really turned into an obstacle when it came to Yuki’s mental health. Agu’s eyes met Bentara’s who could only offer a sad smile. They would have to wait, wait for Yuki to get his head out of his ass and ask for support that everyone on the team was so willing to give.
As the bus rolled to a stop in front of their accommodation, a sprawling complex that housed all the players of the team on various floors, Yuki was the first to get out of his seat, even before the doors had opened. Agu and his teammates exchanged worried glances but remained silent. Yuki was quick to disembark the bus and limp slightly towards the entrance of the complex. A distant shout of ‘Yuki’ made the man stop in his tracks. The voice was obviously male and Agu was instantly on alert. There were times when fans approached them on the streets, disappointed with their performance in a match and looking to share a piece of their mind. It bugged the team to no end and would always dampen their spirits whether or not they had lost the match. With the mood that Yuki seemed to be in, this interaction was bound to be disastrous.
Giannelli must have also sensed the impending danger for he dashed to the entrance of the bus without taking his bags. Agu was quick on his heels and he could hear his teammates also following suit, wanting to protect their outside hitter from as much harm as possible. They did not hear what the person on the other side said but Yuki was already sprinting towards them, despite the injury. Agu had never seen Yuki get violent in all the time that he had known him. For him to go running off like that, that person must have said something incredibly offensive for Yuki to resort to physical violence.
Agu bumped into Giannelli’s broad back as he exited the bus. He sidestepped him to see Yuki……..hugging? Agu had to blink a couple of times to make sure that he was seeing right. Yeah. There was Yuki, looming over the other person, his head buried in their shoulder, arms wrapped tight around their waist. Agu could only make out the brown hair of the other male and his hands as one rubbed up and down Yuki’s back while the other was curled at his nape. He seemed to be telling Yuki something to which Yuki simply kept nodding into his shoulder.
“Who on earth is that”, exclaimed Herrera, startling Agu out of his staring. He turned back to see the rest of the team blatantly staring at Yuki and his companion as well. “I have no fucking idea”, he exclaimed back, garnering the attention of the rest of the team. “Well, let’s go find out then”, Bentara said, taking only a few steps forward before being stopped by Giannelli. “Let’s give them some time, guys”, he turned to them to make sure they were listening to him. “Go get your bags and then we can talk to them”, he conceded. The team only glanced once more back at the still-hugging couple before following their captain’s orders and making their way back into the bus to grab their things.
By the time they had all gathered their belongings and made it out of the bus, Yuki and his companion were making their way to them, hands linked, swinging slightly in what could only be interpreted as joy. Agu looked at his best friend’s face and the worry that had taken hold of his heart for the last month instantly evaporated. There was Yuki, face turned towards his companion, smiling so brightly that his eyes disappeared into happy crescents. Of course, there was still the fatigue from playing a five set match, the loss still lining his shoulders. But, there was this sense of lightness, this joy around the man that had been missing ever since he had returned to Italy after the Olympics.
“Well, I’ll be damned”, he heard Bentara exclaim softly. “I’ve got to say I’m not surprised though”, Giannelli said chuckling. “I mean who else could it be that gets our Yuki smiling like that”.
Agu was confused for a moment before he turned his attention to the man beside Yuki. Of course. Of course, it was Ran Takahashi. Agu was sure he would have gone and smacked some sense into Yuki if it had not been the twenty-three year old outside hitter by his side. It was so painfully obvious to everyone but Yuki that the two were crazily in love with each other. Yuki had always denied it saying that Ran had only seen him as a role model and nothing more and that he was too old for him anyways. Agu had been so close to ripping his hair out at how stupidly oblivious Yuki was being. It seemed like the two had finally done something about their feelings.
But he was not going to let Yuki get away with this easily. Not after all the pining and lamenting he was forced to listen to.
“Who’s this?”, he addressed Yuki, jerking his head towards Ran. And Agu felt a little bad at the weariness that crept into Ran’s eyes, the fear of not being accepted. “This, guys, is Ran Takahashi, my partner”, Yuki introduced, smiling as he said Ran’s name. Agu squealed internally, god, his best friend was so whipped! “Partner?” Herrera questioned, quirking his eyebrows at their joined hands. Yuki and Ran both looked at their hands, then at each other, before Yuki spoke up. “Boyfriend, meet my boyfriend”, he stated proudly, and Agu felt like he could burst from happiness. Yuki’s ears were turning a dark shade of red while Ran’s cheeks flushed cutely, as the rest of the team cheered and hollered at the announcement. Oh god, it was going to be so much fun to tease them.
“Fucking finally!” Agu cheered, drawing everyone’s attention to him. Ran looked up at him questioningly while Yuki was giving him his best death stare.
Agu smirked, as if he’d be afraid of the feisty cat in front of him!
“If I had to spend another second listening to this lovesick idiot about how beautiful Ran is or how powerful his serves are or just how much of an amazing person he is, my ears would have bled out”, he exaggerated and was rewarded with a smack to the back of his head, courtesy of his captain, a kick delivered to his shin by Yuki and giggling from the rest of his team. The flush on Ran’s cheeks crept down to his neck as he was getting increasingly flustered from all the teasing. Yuki just glared at his teammates and put his arm around Ran’s waist, pulling him in closer. Agu would have loved to go on but Giannelli came to the couple’s rescue.
“Okay that’s enough guys, let them breathe”, he stepped forward. “We don’t want Yuki murdering us if Ran combusts on the spot”, apparently he too could not resist the urge to tease Yuki. There were guffaws and chuckles from everyone but Giannelli did not let anyone get a word in before he moved on. “It’s been a long day for all of us and we need to rest up and take care of our bodies”, while it was a gentle reminder, it did sober everyone up. There were solemn nods and hums of agreement echoing through the group. “It’s quite late already, so eat well and try to get some sleep. We’ll meet at the gym tomorrow”, he said.
The team heeded his advice and bade their goodbyes. They congratulated the fairly new couple one last time before they made their way to their apartments.
Agu looked at Yuki, where the fatigue had become apparent on his face and his limping was a little bit pronounced. He had been worried about the man earlier in the evening, afraid of letting him spend the night alone with his thoughts. But now, with Ran shouldering his bag along with Yuki’s and supporting him enough to walk to their apartment, Agu knew that he had nothing to worry about. Yuki’s sun was here and Yuki would thrive on him despite the darkness that the night always brought along. It seemed as if Yuki now had a fellow comrade in arms to join him on the battlefield in his mind. Yuki had an armor dedicated to protecting his heart even if it was from himself. Ran was the balm that would soothe Yuki’s wounds.
Ran’s eyes met his and Agu smiled at him, nodding towards Yuki. Ran smiled back, eyes holding so much sincerity, as if promising that the heart that was now his would never come in harm’s way.
Agu would rest well tonight, knowing that his friend was in more than capable hands.