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wakatoshi feels his muscles tighten from fatigue and thinks that one wrong move could cause him to cramp up. after the last match of the spring preliminaries, his body is starting to take its toll from having overdone it that day, having run a short marathon in the morning and then, having won a match of two long sets each, with him as the top scorer. his setter, still a little shaky on his technique, demanded that he stretch his left foot a little more than normal.
so, after all, he’s still a human with basic needs and flaws. he grunts a little at the pain in his knees after stretching a little. he looks down at his feet, adjusting his shorts over his hips to keep his shirt from wrinkling. he lets out a sigh and raises his head in the direction of the large clock that looms on one of the walls of sendai’s gym. It’s about an hour before the next game.
he thinks seriously about what to do about it. it would be good to go watch the rest of the matches, after all his next opponents are waiting for him out there; he should analyze them enough to know where and how he should finish them off. an unexpected yawn interrupts his train of thought, oh, and that was definitely a bit humiliating. known for his good stamina, he can’t afford to appear tired in front of the audience, so he stiffens his jaw, covers his mouth with the back of his hand and holds back the yawn with his best effort.
“ushijima-senpai,” shirabu approaches cautiously until he is standing in front of him, holding a small towel around his neck. “with the guys we plan to go watch the b-court match, that’s where our next opponents will come from, will you come?”
ushijima regains his composure, thinking again about what he should do about it. he bites his lower lip uncertainly, beginning to feel an annoying heaviness over his eyelids that makes him blink more than is appropriate. well, he knows his body is demanding some rest. he should take it seriously if he wanted to win the next match without discomfort. again, his thinking is interrupted, now with a soft “senpai?” that shirabu emits with concern.
“i’m going to rest for a while, so don’t wait for me.”
“okay, I’ll let the rest know.” the boy smaller than him bows his head briefly and retreats with restless, hurried steps.
ushijima already has a place in mind where to rest. he knows the gym like the back of his hand, after all he has attended multiple matches there for as long as he has been aware – when his father played, then when he started elementary school. he grabbed a towel, his carry-on bag with his equipment and lunch, let the manager know he would be retiring to rest and walked away from the place. he felt a bubbling anticipation as soon as he visualized the place where he was going to rest. the perfect spot was tucked between gym seven and eight, above the bleachers on the top floor, a secluded corner of the world that had a wonderful view of the outside of town.
he had gone there many times as a child, when his father gave him the freedom to wander when he got bored waiting for breaks to end. now, he found it hard to use his hiding place, because his ego wouldn’t allow him to take breaks; but as he grew more mature and realized how necessary it was to maintain a balance, he resumed his old habit.
he climbed the stairs slowly, then rounded the corner, keeping his hip from bumping into the railing. he let out a snort, the air rushing out of his mouth reflexively, when he saw a black and orange ball pressed against the wall in the corner he was about to use. he approached cautiously, for some reason he held his steps still, as if stalking a dangerous animal. he squints his eyes at the suspicion of knowing who is hiding under that black karasuno jacket and another snort escapes his mouth as he notices it was hinata shoyo, sound asleep with his head resting against the hard wall.
“what’s he doing here?” he barely whispers to himself, perching himself in front of the boy to analyze the situation. the boy was curled up against his legs, clinging to his knees tightly as if it were a comfortable pillow. the glowing sun of the day over-illuminated his orange hair and his face was barely visible, his nose red over the tip from the very heat.
ushijima curls his fingers into a fist, uneasy at the idea of sharing his personal space – though he hadn’t claimed it as his own, in his head that place belonged to him. he feels even more uneasy at the idea that the human hovering there is hinata shoyo. another yawn interrupts him. he clicks his tongue in annoyance and gives up when he yawns again. there’s no other choice, he had to share the space.
as soon as his knees gave way, he dropped his bag carefully on the floor. wakatoshi sat down with the same deliberation with which he did everything in his life. first, he settled his bag to the side, then rested his forearms on his knees and let out a slow sigh, letting the tension of his arduous routine dissipate with the warm breeze coming in through the open window.
at least, he tried to. because every time he looked down, he saw the little bundle that was hinata, curled in on himself, breathing deeply and quietly. ushijima watched him silently for a few long seconds. it was strange to see him like that, completely still, his hair longer than his own falling over his forehead to hide his eyes. the image of hinata he had in his head was very different: a player who moved with lightning speed, who rushed in fearlessly and without even analyzing the consequences, who always talked too much and too quickly.
but now he stood there, with his head leaning against the wall and his brow slightly furrowed in his sleep, as if he was still about to argue with someone in his sleeping mind. the captain of the shiratorizawa clicked his tongue and looked away. it wasn’t his problem. he took out his water bottle and drank some. he draped the towel over the back of his neck to keep the position he was in from being uncomfortable. then he crossed his arms, leaning his back against the wall, ready to ignore the presence of the karasuno’s central blocker. he just… couldn’t. he grunted as he opened his eyes again, struggling with his own exhaustion.
every few seconds, the idiot leaned a little more to the left, then to the right. and then, in a particularly dangerous move, shoyo slid just a few more inches to the front and ushijima clearly saw his destination: the ground.
“really?” he sighed heavily, before doing the inevitable. with a precision that only someone with his training could have, he reached out an arm and grabbed the orange-haired one by the shoulder just before his forehead hit the floor. the boy stirred slightly, muttering something incomprehensible.
ushijima waited. perhaps the boy was capable of waking up soon. he didn’t, so he withdrew his hand, wrinkling his nose in mild annoyance. and again, the younger one leaned dangerously forward again.
ushijima reached out again and pushed his arm back with two fingers on his forehead. He held the air in his chest out of inertia, but there was no more movement, managing to steady him against the wall, so he withdrew his hand again. but as if hinata was playing with his patience on purpose, he leaned in again.
“for the love of…” he snorted. this time, without much thought, ushijima dropped his arm over shoyo’s head, gently but firmly pushing him back against the wall. the little boy grunted in his sleep, but didn’t wake up and his frown immediately relaxed. he sighs enviously, he wishes he was as heavy a sleeper as he is.
wakatoshi left his arm there for a few seconds, as if to assure himself that he was not going to attempt another suicidal maneuver in his sleep. then he slowly withdrew it, heavily – and if it weren’t for his enormous pride, he might not have withdrawn his hand.
peace. he finally had the luxury of closing his eyes and allowed his body to relax. the warmth of the sun caressing his brown skin began to lull him, the sound of the wind ruffled his hair, the quiet of the hiding place was overwhelming… and the low murmur of the red-haired man breathing next to him. ushijima didn’t know how much time passed, lost in his comfortable stay, but the next thing he heard was a quiet sound.
“mgh… ah….” he opened his eyes just as hinata began to stir, stretching his arms and arching his back like a cat before blinking heavily. “what…?”
hinata rubbed his eyes, looking around in confusion. his abundant eyelashes flickered several times before his gaze collided with ushijima’s. the two hold their breath, as if afraid their breaths would collide due to the closeness. and soon, in a movement so fast it almost seemed like a fight reaction, shoyo backed up against the wall with his eyes wide as saucers, smashing his head against the wall in a hollow sound.
“japan!” ushijima arches an eyebrow at the nickname. he can see the mid tense so much that his eyelids twitch and his mouth opens again and again, as if searching for the most appropriate words to say. “what are you doing here?”
“sleeping.”
shoyo’s hair twitches, raising his hands in self-defense. ushijima doesn’t even flinch, though he pushes his torso back a little. “but this is my hiding place!”
ushijima squints, a tingling childish indignation growing in his chest. he frowns and withdraws his previous move, straightening his back so he can bully. “no, it’s mine.”
“w-what? I came here first!” hinata looked at him as if he had just taken a ball to the face.
“i’ve been coming here since i was a kid.” deep down, he feels embarrassed by that childish exchange. but his brain overwhelmed with fatigue won’t let him think clearly. the smaller boy closed his mouth, then opened it again, then closed it again. ushijima waited patiently while shoyo’s brain tried to process the information.
“we’re on equal footing.” ushijima calmly stated, willing to stop thinking and give up. “you can keep using it.”
“huh?” shoyo blinked, pushing his back against the wall to increase the distance between them. he clicked his tongue, he hadn’t realized how cramped the place was until their knees accidentally brushed. “now shall we share?” wakatoshi nodded, watching him, unperturbed.
for some reason he hoped the exchange would continue, but the boy looked as tired as he did. he noticed the black bags under his eyes and his skin more milky. hinata, for his part, clenched his jaw, searching for a logical answer. but in the end, he could only let out a long sigh of defeat, sinking his head in his arms.
the one from shiratorizawa watched him for a moment longer, as if waiting for some additional claim, but it never came. hinata stood still, his shoulders rising and falling with his leisurely breathing. silence settled between them again, broken only by the distant murmur of matches on the courts and the occasional sound of the wind. wakatoshi exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. he had wasted enough time arguing, and his body still demanded rest.
little by little, he allowed his muscles to relax. he leaned back just enough for his back to rest better against the wall, and let his head fall to the side, resting it on the available space. he didn’t notice that, in his movement, his temple ended up brushing against shoyo’s soft hair. the younger boy tensed a little at the contact, but didn’t pull away. he just mumbled something, something unintelligible, and then settled further against his own arms.
ushijima said nothing. he just closed his eyes again, too tired to think about the closeness, too exhausted to give it any thought.
the click of a camera and a muffled murmur brought him out of his slumber. he half-opened his eyes, still heavy with sleep, and the first thing he saw was tendo leaning slightly toward him, with his phone held high and a smile that could only mean trouble.
“ushi~waka,” he whispered teasingly, moving the cell phone back and forth, clicking restlessly. “my, my… who knew you’d sleep so comfortably with an enemy?”
he blinked, feeling a warm weight against his arm. he looked down and noticed how the little enemy was still sound asleep, his head resting on his shoulder with no sign of waking up.
he didn’t move. not because he couldn’t, but because… well, after all, he had rested well. he sighed, ignoring tendo’s restrained laughter as he closed his eyes again.