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Furihata squinted his eyes, blinded by the brilliant sun as he settled his bag onto a bench already scattered with the belongings of others. He took in the smell of the ocean and the gentle breeze caressing his face. It was a long time since he had been at the beach.
“Furihata-kun! So glad you could make it!” Riko beamed, walking towards him.
The brunet tapped his fingers lightly on the wooden bench and let out a small smile. “I thought I was early, but it looks like there’s already a huge crowd!”
“Yeah, Momoi and I did kinda go a little overboard with the invites,” Riko gave a sheepish grin. “Well, finals are finally over, so we thought that all of us could really use a break, and what’s better than the beach! C’mon, go catch up with your friends or make new ones! Almost everyone is in the shade to avoid the sun, which really escapes the whole point of being at the beach if you ask me. Oh, the barbeque pits are taken over by Murasakibara. You might want to er, wait a while before you get your fill.”
Furihata stared down at his slightly growling stomach and patted it. He thought of the giant from culinary arts who was quite possibly twice his own size glaring down at him and hung his head in defeat. Furihata gave Riko a nod while she headed off to greet more newcomers. He spotted Fukuda near the seaside and walked briskly towards him. Before the two can make any conversation, they heard a loud voice.
“Eh? You guys have to go already?” A blonde male Furihata recognizes as the model Kise Ryouta called from the surprisingly rather deserted volleyball court.
“Yeah, we have to- hey! Fuku and Furi, you guys can join them, they’re short of people now that we’re going off,” Kagami waved at the duo.
We? Furihata was about to ask when a blue-haired figure popped up right beside him, making him yelp in surprise.
““Hello Furihata-kun,” Kuroko replied monotonously. “We have to leave to help Alex-san with her moving. But I’m sure Akashi-kun and the others will keep you in great company.”
Akashi? Furihata gulped at the sight of the half-clothed male standing beside one of the poles. How could he not, considering that the man was practically a school celebrity; being president of the business school student council, consistently on the Dean’s list each semester, the flawless student that always had his priorities straight and life in order. Furihata admittedly had a slight crush on him, albeit being a little intimidated, but he was pretty sure everyone had went through that phase at one point, like puberty. Except his was lasting a tad longer than expected.
Kuroko looked at Furihata, a slight curl raising at the edge of his lips. It was really too bad he and Kagami had to scoot. But perhaps he could still help out his friend.
“Akashi-kun, why don’t you play this round and pair up with Furihata-kun over here?” suggested Kuroko.
Furihata paled slightly at the proposal, half excited and half anxious, afraid of embarrassing himself in front of Akashi and be a burden. This thought only grew bigger when Aomine pointed his head in his direction and nodded: “He looks like he could use it.”
Furihata would be feeling a little more offended if it were not for the muscles this guy had on him. But then, how was it even possible that everyone here had six-packs? It was almost as if they were all protagonists of some sports anime. The brunet stared at each player’s abdomens, eyes lingering on Akashi’s just a bit longer than others. Thank god for beachwear. He had played volleyball in middle school, so he had hope that he would have the skills to at least not get in the way of Akashi. Although, that really was not the point of the sport.
Akashi opened his mouth, about to say something when Kise cut in.
“That’s perfect then! I’ll sit out and ref for this one since I’m kinda tired from the earlier match.” Kise grinned. “The first to 21 points wins!”
The two newly formed teams: Furihata and Akashi, and Aomine with Fukuda readied themselves after waving their goodbyes to Kagami and Kuroko.
“I-I’ll take the left side, and you take the right?” Furihata nervously asked, only to be returned with a rather blank nod from Akashi.
Furihata positioned himself on the left side of the court, lowering his body to the ground while he watched Aomine preparing to serve. The whistle was blown, and a loud smack was heard as the ball barely passed over the net at rapid speed.
“Akashi-san!” Furihata yelled out to his right as the ball headed towards his partner.
Akashi’s eyes narrowed. He knew the ball was coming for him; his fast reflexes allowed him to react quick, steadying himself to receive the ball with a determined expression. His feet laid steadily into the sand, hands raised as accordingly to—catch it? Before anyone knew what was happening, the red-haired male caught the ball, cradling it in his arms. Furihata faltered in his stance, confused.
“Akashi-cchi, what are you doing? This isn’t basketball!” Kise howled, laughing so hard he curled up into a ball, tears in his eyes.
Aomine followed suit while Fukuda snickered into his sleeve. Akashi blinked, looking like a lost lamb while still embracing the ball. Furihata was the only one frowning and hurried over to his partner.
“Are you okay? Catching that kind of ball must be painful!” Furihata’s brows furrowed in concern and deepened further after seeing the growing red marks on Akashi’s forearms.
“Huh? I mean- I’m fine, I’m sorry Furihata-san. The truth is, I-I actually have never played volleyball in my whole life. What I did was just reflex,” Akashi faced the ground, looking a little flushed.
This was unexpected. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not at all a problem, I can teach you!” Furihata assured, trying to cheer him up before pausing to let what he said sink in. “I-I mean, i-if you aren’t-“
“You would?” Akashi lifted his head, a hopeful expression adorning his face.
How could he be this cute? Furihata almost blurted out, a very manly squeal also threatening to escape from his throat. He nodded furiously, to be returned with an image of Akashi smiling, feeling very thankful. Furihata felt his heart clench at this, but quickly explained the basic rules of beach volleyball, the other players taking a break while the two go through a ‘tutoring session’.
For some reason, they left them alone, not offering any help in teaching Akashi. However, they offered very reaching smiles that seem to insinuate something whenever Furihata turned to look at them. Anyhow, he shrugged off their stares and showed Akashi the two basic forms of digging and setting.
“So you place your hands like this, one on top of the other…” Furihata demonstrated before correcting Akashi by wrapping his hands around Akashi’s and placing them in the right way. He noticed that the flame-haired man was being a little too silent and looked up, confused. After he saw Akashi staring holes at both of their hands, Furihata clicked and immediately retracted his hands like he just touched a burning stove, stuttering badly while rubbing the back of his neck.
Furihata straightened up and cleared his throat, going on to emphasize how the ball is supposed to hit the forearms and not the hands.
“If you do that, it’s what I like to call a cannonball; strong but usually goes out of control! So, erm, don’t do that. Volleyball is a pretty hard sport to get a hold of, so take your time, and it’s totally okay if you mess up because we all do,” Furihata assured, patting Akashi on the back. “And I know that volleyball is different from basketball, but they are both team sports! It is important to rely on your teammate and support them!”
“Okay Furihata-san, I think I get the gist of it, we can continue the game now,” Akashi looked resolute, practicing light setting gestures.
Aomine and Fukuda got back into the court, the taller getting ready to serve again.
“Don’t think just because you’re a newbie that I’m gonna go easy on you!” The tanned male grinned deviously.
With a loud smack, Aomine served a similar serve as the first, the ball approaching towards Akashi again with its rapid speed. Furihata yelled out his partner’s name at this, and Akashi was already in the route of the ball. Because of the unfamiliar digging posture, Akashi clumsily hit the ball lopsidedly off the court. He recomposed himself, ready to dish out another apology when he saw Furihata’s bright smile.
“You did it Akashi-san! You hit the ball!” The brunet excitedly cheered, as if Akashi just won the whole game. “Your reflexes are great, you only have to get be comfortable with the digging position and hit it towards me!”
Akashi’s eyes widened, gazing wordlessly at his teammate. Where did the frustration he felt in his chest just seconds ago vanish to? He broke out in a small smile, filled with resolve to make a clean dig. On the next few serves, he hit the ball out again, but he gradually got used to the stance.
On the following one, he finally hit the ball upwards, but he hardly the time to rejoice as he quickly stepped out of the way for Furihata. “Akashi-san! Here!” Furihata rushed over, and hit the ball towards Akashi. On instinct, Akashi raised his hands and set the ball, which brushed over the net. He was admittedly more comfortable with setting, as the motion reminded him of a chest pass in basketball. Flustered at the progress of the other team, Fukuda was a step too late and failed to receive the volleyball near the net.
“Nice ball Akashi-san! You did it! We scored a point!” Furihata shouted ecstatically, putting his right hand up for a high-five.
Akashi had not felt this sense of accomplishment in a long time, his chest felt light and he felt great. “We did it, Furihata-san,” he returned the gesture, beaming ever so brightly.
“Now it actually feels like we’re playing volleyball,” Aomine sneered.
Akashi effortlessly served the ball, and quickly got into his position. Aomine, however, easily received the ball. Fukuda set it, and Aomine spiked it down without any hesitance. Furihata did not know what had happened, but his body moved on his own and managed to intercept the fast ball. Perhaps it might be the rush of adrenaline that kicked in the last round. “Akashi-san, set it up high for me!”
Akashi understood this, and set the ball high up like how he remembered Kuroko did earlier on. Furihata mentally took in the height of the ball and made two calculated steps: a right, then a left. He swung his arms back to give himself a higher lift off the ground and spiked the ball like how his body recalled in middle school. The result was a ball that landed right on the line, its deep indent in the sand a clear indication of how fast it was.
“Woah man, what was that!” Fukuda exclaimed. Kise gave whooping noises while happily announcing the score. “Shit dude, I was wrong about you, it was the total opposite; you didn’t need any help!” Aomine shouted.
Furihata rubbed his neck, embarrassed by the attention. “You looked really cool when you spiked, Furihata-san,” Akashi complimented with widened eyes.
Furihata’s chest fluttered at the praise, which he mentally facepalmed at since he was definitely not going to act like a schoolgirl with a crush. He admitted it was pretty hard, since his heart was thumping in all ways clichéd. “T-thank you Akashi-san, but I could not have done it without you. Your set was perfect; I can’t believe you improved in such a short time!” he smiled good-naturedly.
“I must have an amazing teacher and partner then,” Akashi gave a lopsided grin, all too akin to a smirk that had Furihata gulp and chuckle nervously.
The friendly match went on after the small commotion, with Aomine and Fukuda still in the lead, but Akashi and Furihata slowly catching up. The pairs were getting more comfortable with each other and the game had gotten more intense. The group of males were all covered in sweat, which glistened under the hot sun.
“11-17! Akashi-cchi’s team serve!” Kise yelled out, clearly immersed in the game as well.
The point was awarded with a close game, when Akashi unintentionally hit the ball too close to the net for Furihata to set. The brunet acted quick and slightly tipped the ball over, earning them the point since Aomine was not prepared for it. With a little cheer, Furihata bent to pick up the ball right under the net. He felt eyes on him and turned back to look at Akashi, who was staring into space at him. “Akashi-san?” Furihata called out.
“…nice bu-ball. Ball. Nice ball. Great save just now, Furihata-san,” Akashi said with a straight face, earning an arched eyebrow from the brunet.
As he got ready to serve, Furihata noticed the wriggling eyebrows the other three boys were giving Akashi, and an additional snort of laughter from Aomine. “Some nice ball you got there, Furihata-cchi!” Kise smirked at him, earning a confused look from Furihata. “Just a piece of advice, Akashi likes those with nice balls!” He heard Akashi let out a low groan while making threatening steps towards Kise before the blonde raised his hands up as a sign of defeat, while grinning mischievously. Just what was going on?
Brushing that off, the group smoothly played on the game, ending the match with Aomine’s team winning by four points. “It’s kinda nice to play other types of sports once in a while. Dude, I’ll ring you up if we ever play a few rounds of volleyball. You were wrecking shit with your spikes!” Aomine grinned and high-fived Furihata.
“It’s such a shame we lost, but that was a great match!” Furihata said cheerfully while the boys headed towards the barbeque pits due to grab something to fill their stomach.
Due to the large crowd of people, the group dissipated and Furihata tried getting some food before giving up and retreating to a bench which was much quieter. He furrowed his eyebrows and pouted at his rumbling stomach. The brunet recalled the events that occurred just minutes before and still could not believe what had happened. He actually managed to speak to Akashi without being a stuttering mess. Well, most of the time.
“Hello Furihata-san, I finally found you. May I sit next to you?” Akashi popped out of nowhere, halting Furihata’s train of thought.
“A-Akashi-san! O-of course, y-yes you can!” And there goes ‘stuttering mess’ from list of achievements.
“Here,” Akashi offered Furihata a cold can of soft drink, smiling good-naturedly. “This is thanks for the volleyball coaching.”
Furihata let out an audible gasp and a ‘no problem, thank you’ before chugging down on the cold, sweet, heavenly nectar. After a long gulp, he let out a satisfied sigh. Realizing what he did, the brunet blushed beetroot red in embarrassment while Akashi let out an amused chuckle.
“You played really well just now for your first time, Akashi-san!” Furihata blurted out. “I didn’t know you couldn’t play volleyball!”
“…Thank you Furihata-san. But you know, I’m only human; you cannot expect me to know everything,” Akashi’s grin faltered a bit.
The brunet let out a horrified screech internally when he thought he said something wrong.
“No no no Akashi-san! I don’t mean it that way, it’s just you’re always so perfect and amazing and you just seemed to be so athletic with that body of yours and I thought you were great at all sports! And not knowing something isn’t a bad thing because it makes it so much easier to approach you and I’m so glad I talked to you! I guess you can say I like that you don’t know something; it makes me like you even more!” Furihata rambled on, trying to salvage the situation.
Furihata froze at what he said. D-did I just-? He was going to bury himself into a hole, throw himself into the sea, anything to not have to face Akashi again. Akashi stayed silent for a while, expression unreadable. If just another millisecond of silence went by, Furihata swore that he would go nuts. “I-I mean-”
Akashi started speaking. “I can’t play volleyball. I can’t paint. I can’t play the flute. I can’t peel eggs nicely, or potatoes for that matter. I can’t type very fast. I can’t bake a cake; go ask Murasakibara for details. I can’t do a lot of things, Furihata-san. Do you like me a little more now?”
“Wha-?” Furihata flushed a deeper shade of red, brain went into overdrive as Akashi placed his left hand over Furihata’s right hand.
“I can’t express my feelings very well, Furihata-san. But, you didn’t laugh when I messed up. You didn’t look disappointed. You encouraged me and I genuinely had a great time today, which is a first in quite a while. I… honestly never felt this way before. If you would let me, Furihata-san, I’d like to show you even more things that I can’t do. I know it’s a little fast, but will you let me know more about you too? We can take it slow, and start off as friends.”
“I-I er, I-” Furihata’s mind whirled at an all too rapid pace. All he could make out was incomprehensible syllables. Without thinking much, he buried his face into Akashi’s arm. He made out a weak nod while he felt his heart was going to burst out of his ribcage at any minute.
“Yes.”
(In the midst of that, Furihata still made a mental note to show Akashi the ball collection he had at his house. After all, Kise did say Akashi liked nice balls.)