Work Text:
"Um. I've been wondering this for a while now, but just what is Yaku-san afraid of?"
Lev asked this very sudden question to Kuroo during practice. He was curious, because he was simply curious about Yaku in general. He wanted to know more about him, everything he could, while he had his chances. Of course, he couldn't ask the boy himself because asking him about his fears was like reaching into flames. Kuroo knew this well, as he said, "Oh, you know what they say, Lev? Curiosity killed the cat."
Kenma, who was overhearing the conversation, added, “Well, I don’t know if this counts, but if anything it’d be losing a match.”
Lev said, “But that goes for all of us.”
He replied, “True.”
That day was bright and sunny and calm, completely devoid of any foreboding disaster. That’s why, when the forecast the next day called for thunderstorms, everyone was confused. During morning practice, everyone concluded that after school practice was going to be cancelled for the day. Yaku had been acting strange that morning, as in actually doing things Kuroo told him to do, and while the team noticed this, they didn’t bother calling him out on it.
Except for Lev.
“Yaku-san, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked him.
The shorter, peach-haired boy glared at him. “What makes you think something is wrong, huh?”
“Well, you—” Lev was interrupted by Taketora, who threw a volleyball his way. Lev looked at him, as he waved his hand sideways across his neck. Meaning, “shut up or die.” So Lev conceded for the time being, but he was not giving up.
When Yaku spotted Lev during lunch break, he was talking to Kuroo and Kai. He saw Lev, suddenly, as the latter was peering into their classroom from afar. Yaku walked over to him and said, “What are you doing here?”
“I totally wasn’t trying to listen to your conversation!” Lev defended.
“So you were trying to listen in on our conversation. What for?”
Lev narrowed his eyes as he realized he was making it easier for Yaku to figure him out. “I...wasn’t...curious about anything...”
“So you were curious about something. Just spit it out, Lev! I won’t get mad!”
You already are mad, Lev thought to himself. “Then, is there anything you’re afraid of?”
Yaku froze. Had Lev figured him out already? And so easily? He was so sure that he’d concealed himself. Did Lev know already and was just testing him? Or was he genuinely curious? Knowing him, it could either be one of these or none. So he said, “No. What are you going on about? Asking me that out of the blue.”
“Well... I was just curious.”
“I see, I see. Then, are we good?”
“Yeah...we’re good.” Lev walked away, but he was not convinced. Not at all. Although he had cat-like features, and he was feisty and small, Yaku was very human. So he had to have something. Something that sent chills through his veins and stopped his heart.
After school, Lev saw him standing by the shoe lockers and not leaving. He just stood there, biting at his fingernails and mumbling to himself. Outside, the sky was getting darker and darker and the clouds dispersed. There wasn’t a shred of sunlight. Instead, there was rain. Lev went up to him. “Yaku-san,” he said, and for a second it seemed like Yaku jumped.
“Oh, you’re still here, Lev?”
“Yes. Are you not going home?”
“Well...”—he looked away—“not really...”
“Why? Oh, you don’t have an umbrella.”
Yaku had shut his eyes and was biting his lip in remorse. He shouldn’t have even said anything. Before he knew it, when he opened his eyes he saw Lev holding a red umbrella. “It’s my sister’s. Let’s go home together, Yaku-san.”
“...Okay.”
As they walked under the same red umbrella, Yaku couldn’t help but realize that he was in the middle of what was considered as a romantic setup. He figured he would rather be under a red umbrella with a pretty girl, but since Lev was a behemoth, he could carry the umbrella. Thinking about it that way made it not so bad. Yaku stopped himself from thinking about it any further. It was dangerous thinking. “So where do you live?” Lev asked him.
“Not too far from here.” They stopped at an intersection. “I can go by myself from here.”
“Are you sure?”
To Yaku, this was an essential question. Because he really wasn’t sure, or okay, and he really didn’t want to go home. But could he say this? Could he become so vulnerable in front of his junior? “I’m sure,” he said. He started to leave, but Lev grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? Let go of me!”
“Why don’t you come over to my house?” Lev suggested. “Just for a bit.” He was so close to figuring Yaku out. He couldn’t back down now.
“...Okay. Just...let go of me already.”
“Oh, right, sorry.”
When they reached Lev’s home, Yaku expected to meet his parents and sister and to be asked a lot of questions. But no one was home. “Are they working?” he asked.
Lev answered, “Yeah.”
“So it’s just us?”
“Yeah.” Lev paused, because he was curious as to what Yaku was insinuating. He grinned. “Does that embarrass you, Yaku-san?”
Yaku snapped, “Hell no! I was just asking!”
Lev laughed, but as the moment died down, they heard a rumbling sound coming from the sky. “Oh, wow. So it’s going to be a big one. I think they’ll be back home soon at this rate,” he said to himself. He turned to Yaku, who again, seemed to jump. His peach-haired senior looked pale and distraught. “Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine.”
They went up to Lev’s room and Yaku saw that its light green color somehow fit Lev’s personality. As he wondered why, he realized that it was because he was usually smiling and happy. And his eyes were also very green. But how did he know that? You would have to be close to him to see it. Did he watch Lev a lot more than he thought? Because although his junior smiled a lot and did foolish things, there were times on the court when his green eyes grew large and a shadow came over his face. He was always as intense as a match was. If anything, that seeing that sent chills through his body.
Before he realized it, he was in the middle of Lev’s arms. His face and ears flamed. “What are you doing?!”
“Yaku-san. You’re shaking.”
“The hell I am!”
“What are you afraid of? Is it this weather? The thunder?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Maybe so, but I think you should ask others for help when you need it. You do it in volleyball, so why can’t you do it in life?”
Yaku was defeated. Lev was going to continue to press on, because that’s how he was. “...Alright, fine. But I’m not afraid. I just reeeaally don’t like them. Thunderstorms, I mean. The lightning and the rain, it’s all just too much. Are you happy now?”
Lev held him closer. Even though it was obvious he was afraid, he let that slide. He smiled as he whispered into his ear, “Yes. I’m happy.” Cats don’t like water, he thought.
Yaku was about to explode. He was already too close to Lev, and to top it off he whispers in his ear and sends vibrations through his pores. He was about to push him away when outside, the rain started to pour and lightning flashed. Then thunder crashed from the sky. The booming sound resonated throughout Yaku’s body and nearly stopped his heart (as if Lev hadn’t stopped it already). Out of reflex, he grabbed on tightly to Lev’s shirt and dug his face in his chest.
Lev, in this moment, was the happiest he’d been in a while. To see such a vulnerable Yaku, holding onto him, it was something he really didn’t want anyone else to see. The lightning and thunder pattern repeated for a while. Yaku was still holding onto him. He wasn’t going to tell Lev this, but he didn’t want to go home because he didn’t want to be alone. And he wasn’t pushing him away anymore because he was warm and soft. There were some perks to being a giant.
Even when everything stopped, and all that was left was the sound of the remnants of rain, Yaku hadn’t stopped shaking. Lev was going to release him, but he mentally slapped himself because this was the perfect opportunity to get Yaku to see him as more than a junior, more than a teammate and more than a skyscraper.
He thought, It’s over already, but...
Yaku suddenly mumbled, “Don’t let go.”
Lev was so simple. Something as small as this sent him to the clouds. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Afterwards, they read a few magazines and drank some tea and Lev walked Yaku home. On the way there, underneath the red umbrella, he grabbed onto Yaku’s hand. Usually he would get kicked in his butt for trying this, but both he and Yaku weren’t their usual selves. Because Yaku didn’t let go of his hand.
It was a selfish thought, but Lev couldn’t wait for there to be another storm.