Work Text:
“Daiiiiii, I’m sick.”
“Hiro, you’re not.”
Daichi’s seven year old brother pouted, looking up at him with his big brown eyes. As the oldest of five, with two younger brothers and two younger sisters, Daichi had become immune to most of their antics. Both his parents worked late nights, so it was up to him to keep them from burning the house down. While he prided himself on being successful most of the time, his patience was very thin at five in the morning.
“Yes, feel my forehead.” Hiro grabbed his older brother’s larger hand, placing it on his forehead. “See? It’s hot.”
“It feels completely normal. You’re fine.”
“Well, listen! I’m coughing.” He poorly faked a cough into his elbow, keeping eye contact with his brother as he did so. “I’m so sick.”
Daichi sighed. Since it was the weekend, his parents promised to take the youngest kids out to the zoo while Daichi led a weekend practice. He couldn’t imagine why any little kid would fake being sick to go to the zoo . Hiro was like Daichi, in that he was always up early for school, packed and ready and excited. He’d never fake being sick to get out of taking a quiz, but he seemed insistent on staying home.
Daichi moved to the edge of his bed, feet touching the ground as he looked down at Hiro. If he’d come in this early to wake his brother up, he must have been really worried.
“Hiro, what’s really wrong?”
His brother looked down at his socked feet, avoiding eye contact. “Nothin’.”
“Hiro.” Daichi used a voice similar to when he was reprimanding Hinata & Kageyama to stop fighting or for Tanaka to put his shirt back on. He’d had plenty of experience tangling a bunch of energetic toddlers together, and being Karasuno’s captain was no different. Being an older sibling also gave him an emotional intelligence that was helpful off the court, but that was more Suga’s expertise.
Hiro huffed. “Okay… I’m not sick.”
Daichi patted the spot next to him on the bed, helping Hiro jump up. “I know that much. What’s wrong?”
The younger twiddled with his thumbs, avoiding Daichi’s watchful gaze. He mumbled something quietly, and Daichi put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hiro.”
“I wanna watch you play volleyball!” He repeated, now looking up and meeting his eyes. “We were playing at recess, and-and I kept missing, and the kids were saying that I was bad, and I wanna learn from you!” He had a determined look in his eyes, one that reminded Daichi of his own. After every late night practice, he would find Hiro sitting on Daichi’s bed, past his bedtime, waiting to hear all about what they’d done that day. His passion for the sport was amazing for such a young kid, and he wished he could indulge him.
“Aww, Hiro,” Daichi sighed, ruffling his hair. “Look, I really wish I could bring you, but-“
“I’ll tell Mom you punched me.”
Daichi moved his hand from his head, looking at his brother with a new, much more startled expression on his face. “What?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Hiro, you can’t just-“
Hiro gave him a challenging look before shouting. “Mom-!”
Daichi shushed him, glaring at Hiro and mumbling something about being ‘evil.’ “Okay, stop. Look, I’ll text the coach to ask, but you can’t get mad if you can’t go, okay?”
Hiro nodded.
“Pinky promise?”
The younger hesitated before reluctantly lifting his finger towards Daichi. “Okay, text him right now.”
Daichi rolled his eyes as he pulled out his phone, scrolling to Ukai’s number. “Fine, but you have to go brush your teeth and get dressed. Either way, you’re not going anywhere if you’re in your pajamas, Hiro.”
Hiro grumbled as he hopped off the bed, half-heartedly glaring at Daichi as he stalked out of the room. “Fine.”
“Thank you, Hiro.”
5:48
Sawamura : Hello, Ukai-san! Sorry that this is so late, but my younger brother is sick today and can’t stay home alone while my family is out. Would he be able to sit on the sidelines during our practice today? I promise that he will be on his best behavior.
While he waited for a response from Ukai, who he doubted he would hear from soon, he decided to reply from the messages he’d received while he was sleeping. It always amazed him how Suga could be so energetic after sleeping so late.
2:34
suga : DAICHI I SAW A STRAY CAT
suga : OLD MAN
suga : WAKE UP
suga: I THINK KUROO SENT A SPY OVER OR SOMETHING
suga : it looks evil
suga : you’re a horrible friend
suga : wake up
suga : wake up
suga : wake up
suga : asahi’s awake and he’s telling me not to go near it
suga : i’m gonna go pet it
suga : if you don’t hear from me ever again, tell everybody at my funeral i died doing something cool like climbing mt. fuji naked
suga : you’d have to share the pictures of my naked dead body and talk about how fond our memories are and how you’ll never recover from losing me
suga : and everybody on the team would have to wear matching “we ❤️ suga-san” shirts with my naked picture
suga : petition to put a banner of me up in the hallways
suga : gone too soon, gone but never forgotten, sugawara koushi was an incredibly brave and attractive student who was cool enough to die climbing mt. fuji naked
suga : you can carry a picture of me in your wallet like i’m your dead wife
suga : the cat ran away.
suga : there goes my plan
5:51
Daichi : Good morning to you too, Suga
Daichi : I hope you know that I’d never make those t-shirts
suga : rude
suga : you know that nishinoya and tanaka would wear them in my honor
Daichi : That’s my problem, Suga
suga : so serious, captain sawamura
suga : no room for fun or mourning your dead best friend
suga : i hope you know that if you died, i would tattoo your face on my back and paint a mural of you in the gym
Daichi : Glad to know you’ll never have to do that, then
Daichi : But why are you up so early? Besides contemplating your own death
suga : just writing
Daichi : Writing?
Daichi : Oh, like that essay for Japanese Lit?
suga : yeah sure
suga : that
Daichi : It completely slipped my mind
Daichi : I really need to get started on that
suga : tsk tsk
suga : so irresponsible
suga : what would all your dear kouhai think
suga : and are you just up early to do a hundred push ups or whatever it is you do in the morning
Daichi : I don’t do that, and no
Daichi : Hiro woke me up
suga : AWWW HIRO
suga : tell him that his favorite mentor suga-san misses him very much
Daichi : You might be able to tell him yourself
Daichi : He’s very adamant on coming to practice today to get better at volleyball
suga: wait really
Daichi : I keep on telling him he can’t, but he’s very good at threatening
suga : daichi this is amazing
suga : don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on him
suga : tell him that if he behaves, i’ll buy him a popsicle
Daichi : Aw, you don’t have to do that
suga : i love him, yes i do
Daichi : I’ll make sure to tell him, then
Daichi : Thank you, Suga
suga: trust me, this is a small thing
suga : you’ve done a lot for me, consider it me paying you back :)
Daichi : :)
suga : ughhh i have to go get ready
suga : since someone keeps making 7 am practices
Daichi : At least you don’t have to wrangle a seven year old with you
suga : hiro’s an angel
Daichi : He’s tricked you
suga: he’s cute
suga : bye daichi! see you at practice :)
suga : with hiro, of course
Daichi : Yeah, of course
Daichi : Bye, Suga
Daichi put his phone down, knowing that he had to get ready for the day but wishing he could just continue talking to Suga. In a best friend way, of course. Who wouldn’t want to talk to their best friend all day? Not Daichi!
He was screwed. Suga was so reliable and effortlessly witty and Suga . He balanced out the team so well, made Daichi go a little bit less crazy each practice. He would listen to Tsukishima and Kageyama fight for hours just to get to watch as Suga shouted at them, using his authority to get them to behave. He drew attention to himself that way, attention from everybody.
He especially got Daichi’s attention. He was charming, garnering attraction from all sorts of girls in their grade. Suga was always more keen at that sort of stuff, knowing how to carefully turn them all down with a kind smile. He’d always insist that certain girls were interested in Daichi, calling him dense, but he could never really see it. Why would anybody be interested in him when he was always surrounded by someone as handsome as Suga?
Not that he thought Suga was handsome. He’d just heard other people say that. All of his thoughts about Suga were completely friendly and platonic. It was normal to think that he could stare into his hazel eyes for hours or to desire to trace all his moles into one constellation. All best friends thought that.
“What’re you doing?” Hiro asked as he walked back in Daichi’s room, interrupting his thoughts. He now donned his own, albeit smaller, volleyball jersey and was holding a ball in his hands.
“Just texting Suga.”
Hiro hummed. “You have a big smile on your face.”
Daichi, subconsciously, dropped the smile he wasn’t even aware he had. “No, I don’t.”
“Yeah. I saw it.”
He tried to change the subject. “Did you brush your teeth, Hiro?”
“Yeah, I did. You smile when you talk to Suga.”
“Okay, Hiro.” Daichi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, quickly reading over the message from Coach Ukai.
6:17
Coach Ukai : That’s fine. You’re a family man, Sawamura. Look after him.
Sawamura sent a quick message to thank his coach, and looked down at Hiro. “Well, ready to head to Karasuno?”
———
“Suga!” Right as Daichi was going to yell at Hiro to stay by his side, he ran towards Suga’s open arms, immediately being picked up in the air.
“Hey! There’s my favorite Sawamura!”
Daichi rolled his eyes as he approached them. “Hey, don’t encourage him. He’s here to be on his best behavior and watch us practice, right?” the captain asked, looking at his brother in Suga’s arms.
“Yes, Daichi,” his brother sighed, before turning excitedly towards Suga. “Hey! Did you know that my brother smiles when he talks to you?”
The smile on both of their faces dropped, and Daichi felt his face heat up. Hiro, no, Hiro, why would you say that. Just as he was about to deny everything, he saw Nishinoya and Tanaka approach them.
“Woah, baby Daichi!” Tanaka said excitedly. Suga leaned to put Hiro down, watching as he ran to give the two second-years high fives.
Daichi avoided eye contact with Suga, though he could absolutely feel his stare burning him, and focused on the other players. “Sorry, I had to bring my brother to practice today. Nishinoya, Tanaka, this is Hiro.”
Nishinoya pointed to himself. “Well, Hiro, you’re here with the Guardian Deity, the genius libero of Karasuno!”
Tanaka nodded. “Y’know what, we’ll make sure you get all of our autographs on your ball when practice ends. In ten years, you’d probably be able to pay for college with that thing.”
Hiro looked up, nodding excitedly. “Woah, really?!”
Tsukishima and Yamaguichi walked in together, laughing as they walked past the others. “Trust me, your signatures aren’t worth anything,” the blonde muttered, ignoring the two glares he received.
Noticing more and more people coming in, Daichi took Hiro’s hand. “Okay, that’s enough. Practice is gonna start soon, so why don’t you go sit by Kiyoko and watch, all right? Maybe you could pick up a few things.”
Hiro nodded, following Daichi’s finger to where Kiyoko stood by the sidelines. He ran over, energetic as ever, just as Daichi clapped his hands.
“Okay, everybody! On the line!”
———
Suga sat as he grabbed his water, chatting with Asahi. After a few hours, practice had finally ended, and Suga was equally exhausted as he was nervous.
“Asahi, I can’t do this.”
“Suga, maybe just stick the letter in his bag! Then you don’t need to approach him.”
“He’s still gonna see it eventually! And then what happens? Best case scenario, Daichi just tells me that he’s glad we’re best friends and gives me a high five.”
“Best case scenario, you could get a boyfriend.”
Suga groaned into his hands. “Since when did we switch? I hate being Asahi. Being this pessimistic is exhausting.”
“Hey,” Asahi said, half-heartedly pushing at Suga’s shoulder. “I’m not pessimistic. Look at me right now!”
“Yeah, cause we probably got switched or something. You used your appearance to intimidate a poor witch and now I'm stuck with permanent Asahi-brain. Thanks a lot.”
Asahi sighed. “Well, at least you know how it feels.”
“It sucks. I have Asahi-brain and in-love-with-Daichi brain. I want my Suga-brain back.”
“Maybe,” Asahi started, lifting gently bringing Suga’s hands away from his face, “the only way to reverse the curse is to confess to Daichi.”
“No thanks.”
Just as Asahi was about to say something else, the two of them looked up, hearing the sound of footsteps coming towards them. There they saw Hiro, seemingly bored of waiting for his brother to finish talking.
“Hello, Suga-san. Hello, Asahi-san.” Hiro plopped himself down next to them, sitting cross-legged and looking content. “That was really awesome!”
Suga laughed, masking his nervousness for the other’s sake. “Really? Well, I’m glad you think so!”
“Yeah! I can see why Daichi thinks you’re so cool.”
For the second time that day, Suga felt his smile falter, transitioning into shock. Shock mixed with a hope he quickly buried in his chest. “He… Daichi thinks I’m cool?”
“Yup!” Hiro nodded enthusiastically. “Y’know, he has a photo of you guys on his nightstand, but he always hides it in his closet when you come over. I think he’s embarrassed of how happy you make him. I think that’s stupid, though.”
Suga swallowed, feeling his heart rise to his throat. “Really? Uhm, why do you think that’s stupid?”
Hiro sighed dramatically. “Well, if I knew that I made somebody happy, I would be happy, too! Duh! Then everybody would be happy!” He looked expectantly at Suga, who only nodded weakly.
Curse his Asahi-brain.
Asahi nodded in response to Hiro, gaining both of their attention. “You know, uhm, Hiro, I think that’s a really good idea.”
“See! Thank you! Daichi never agrees with me. Don’t tell him I said this,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “but sometimes he can be a little stupid.”
Suga laughed. “Yeah, I guess that is a little stupid, huh?”
“Mhm.”
The oldest sighed, looking over at Asahi. Asahi gave him a kind smile, nodding encouragingly, before they turned towards Daichi’s little brother.
“Hey,” Suga started, steeling himself by taking a deep breath. “Can you keep a secret, Hiro!”
Hiro nodded excitedly. “Yeah! I’m an awesome secret-keeper. I know tons of secrets! Did you know that Daichi sleeps with a teddy bear? I bet you didn’t, because that’s a secret.”
Suga chuckled softly, ruffling his hair. “Yes, very good secret. Well, I have a secret of my own; do you want to know it?”
Hiro clapped his hands together. “Yeah! Tell me!”
“Well, your brother makes me very happy too. And do you wanna know something extra embarrassing ?”
Hiro nodded aggressively.
“I do the same things. Look,” Suga started as he pulled his phone from his bag, showing Hiro the background. It was a selfie, one with a smiling Suga and an obviously caught-off-guard Daichi. They were both in their uniforms, hair messy after an especially grueling practice, but Daichi still looked so handsome that Suga couldn’t help but cherish the photo.
“Wow,” Hiro said, looking up at Suga. “You should really tell my brother he makes you happy, then. You both make each other happy! That’s a really special thing!”
As Suga was about to laugh it off, Asahi replied, looking thoughtfully at Suga. “Yeah, Suga. It’s definitely a special thing.”
Suga looked back at him, replying the wordless question Asahi had prompted, the words on the tip of his tongue. This was risky, this was bad, but it was special.
“You know what, Asahi? I agree.”
———
Daichi dropped his bag on the floor, ready to almost collapse on his bed. Practice had been tiring enough without a little brother to look over, one that seemed very insistent on embarrassing Daichi in front of Suga. Thankfully, after that debacle at the beginning, Hiro had waited patiently, ceasing his troublemaking. Thankfully .
He stopped himself, however, when he saw an envelope slip out, lying intimidatingly next to his bag. It was simple, with no details on it indicating what its contents were, which only worked to scare Daichi more.
He, reluctantly, picked it up, sitting on his bed, With suspicion, he peeled back the folded over edge, and immediately recognized the handwriting. Suga.
Daichi,
I bet you’re wondering why I’m writing you a letter. I am, too, as I’m writing this. It’s four in the morning, which means I’m probably delirious and stupid right now. That’s the only explanation I have for myself. Anything I write here can’t be used against me.
Not that you’d use anything against me. You’re kind, Daichi. I’m not sure how we’re best friends, because I’ll admit that sometimes I tease you a little too relentlessly, but I’m so thankful that you’ve decided to stick with me.
Truthfully, I admire everything about you. I admire how capable of a leader you are, how you can always be so strong and commanding. You’ve created such an incredible team and you’re still so humble about it, but I want you to know that so much of our success is due to all the work you put on your very own shoulders. So thank you, Daichi.
I admire how great of a best friend you are, too. You’ve never made me feel embarrassed, and your support for the past three years means the world to me. I don’t think there’s anybody else I can would want by my side, and I’ve definitely been spoiled having you as a best friend. There’s nobody who could replace you.
I admire you as a secret third thing. I admire your determination and your kindness through another perspective when I’m alone, imagining what it’d be like if you were with me. Physically, or otherwise. I admire how expressive your eyes are, how defined your back muscles get when you reach for the ball, how loud your laugh can be when you don’t try to dim it. I admire how carefree you are when you’re with me, how it makes me feel special.
Maybe I’m being presumptuous, imagining I’m special. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, hoping that you admire me back. But Asahi’s gotten sick of me, and frankly, I’ve gotten sick of me. So I’m taking just about the biggest risk of my life, and I’m hoping you don’t hate me for it.
Sawamura Daichi, please be my boyfriend.
Yours,
Koushi
P.S.: If you won’t, please set this on fire and forget about it.
Daichi reread the letter more times than he could count, imagining each word written by Suga by the lamplight in his bedroom before dawn. The very same Suga who now knew how obsessed Daichi was. He was obsessed back. He was so lucky.
Immediately, he pulled out his phone, smiling wider than he ever had before.
11:02
Daichi : Yes. Please.
suga : oh thank gods
suga : daichi that was the scariest thing i’ve done in my life
Daichi : And I commend you for it
Daichi : I was too scared to do it myself
Daichi : So thank you
suga: thank hiro, it was mostly him
Daichi : What
Daichi : Suga what did Hiro do
suga : i’ll tell you when i see you tomorrow
Daichi : It’s Sunday, we don’t have practice
suga : why have practice when i can take you out for lunch?
suga : and to buy hiro that popsicle
Daichi blushed, holding his phone to his chest. Smooth, Suga, smooth.
suga : but what’s this about you sleeping with a teddy bear?
He sighed good-naturedly, fondly, before looking back at his phone. He was in trouble, but there wasn’t anywhere else he’d want to be.