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It's not a secret that Lev stands out, he knows he does. An extremely tall, half-Russian, silver-haired boy is pretty hard not to notice. Especially in Japan. Lev doesn't mind how he looks, in fact, he's more than happy with his appearance. Not that he'd ever voice it; he does not want to get kicked by Yaku-san again. Lev actually finds that fact that he's so tall and his senpai is so short hilarious. It's one of the many reasons he has a grin on his face whenever he's around Yaku. If Yaku ever found out, Lev is pretty sure Yaku would find a way to jump as high as Karasuno's number 10 just so he could hit Lev in the face.
And Lev does not want that.
He knows how hard Yaku can hit.
He can feel an involuntary shiver crawl its way up his spine as memories of Angry Yaku force their way to the front of his mind. Like the first, and only, time he called Yaku short. He was not making that mistake again. But despite Yaku's tendency to get angry, he also tends to get protective. Lev remembers the first time Yaku went Mother Mode on someone on the team.
"Where is your jacket?"
Yaku only gets a blank stare, which isn't all that rare for Kenma, but Kenma also knows that Yaku expects a verbal answer.
"I forgot it." Kenma gives the answer reluctantly, knowing where Yaku is going with this.
"Kenma. You know you get sick easily. Remember that time 6 months ago? Not even a year ago. You were off for a week! Do you remember the cause of why you got ill?"
By this point in his tirade, Yaku has his hands on his hips and is using his Mother Voice. Kenma turns his head to the side, pouting, knowing he got ill 6 months ago because he forgot his jacket. It had rained on his way home and he hadn't bothered to speed up, knowing he'd crash into something or someone whilst playing his game which he hid under his bent-over head.
By now Yaku has gathered the attention of the whole team, including Lev who is watching with rapt curiosity, never having seen someone tell Kenma-san off before, and also not having seen Yaku care so blatantly about anything but volleyball. Lev can feel a smirk spread over his face at the maternal care Yaku is expressing towards the team's setter, which goes unnoticed by all except their captain.
"I know you remember why you got ill, Kenma."
Kenma continues to pout, and Kuroo quickly butts in, trying to defuse the situation before Yaku can unleash his Ruthless Parent Mode on them all.
"Hey, hey! It's okay, Yaku-chan," Yaku glares at Kuroo, obviously ruffled by the honorific "he can have my jacket, then he won't get ill." A classic Kuroo smirk follows his 'genius' suggestion before Yaku provides his rebuttal.
"Captain." Lev can sense trouble is coming. "Do you remember what happened 5 months ago?"
Kuroo visably pales. Only a month later after Kenma had gotten ill, he'd forgotten his jacket again; Kuroo had given Kenma his to walk home with in the rain. He had then been off for a week. Yaku had had to help lead practice in the absence of their Captain.
"Exactly. Which is why, Kenma, you'll be taking my jacket, it should be big enough for, maybe a bit small" Lev giggles to himself, trust his senpai to only ignore his height 'issue' when he's too busy caring about his teammates "but it should fit, and it's certanily better than either of you getting sick. Now, all of you head home! Before the rain gets any worse."
Yaku quickly throws his jacket to Kenma, glaring at him until he puts it on.
"The rest of you head home, and stop staring at us!" The team quickly averts their eyes. No one wants to be the one to anger Yaku. "Kuroo-san, don't worry about tidying and locking up, I've got it covered." Kuroo looks like he's about to protest, but is silenced by another Mother Glare.
The rest of the team quickly gather their stuff, small smirks on their faces from Yaku's angry caring. Though, as all of them are sitting in their houses later, they grow worried as they know that Yaku was walking home in the rain that had gotten heavier soon after most of them had arrived home.
No one mentioned how Yaku wasn't at school the next day. Or the day after that. Or when he finally came back to school he was stiff sniffling, obviously still suffering from the end of a cold.
Lev smiled at the memory of the short Libero telling Kenma off, the small teen not even taking excuses from their Captain. Lev knew that Yaku felt responsible for their team; whenever somone sneezed, he was there with a tissue, if someone fell, he was there with plasters and a lollipop, despite Kuroo telling him off for ruining the diet of the whole team. After Yaku brought out the first lollipop, the amount of falls in and out of practice noticeably increased.
However, Lev didn't have any more time to reminisce as a shout echoed down the almost empty hallway leading to the vending machine to was heading towards.
"Oi! Beansprout!"
Ah, there it was. The words didn't bother Lev too much. Breansprouts were good for you. How was that an insult? However, what did bother him was the pushing.
He quickly back up as three third years crowded around him. He chose not to say anything.
"What, all on your own again?" They all sneered at him. Lev felt a cold sweat spread over him. There had only ever been one or two of them before. It had only been small pushes in the corridor, whispered insults as they passed him in the hallway. They'd never been this coordinated before.
"You're not even fully Japanese, are you? Do you even speak more than basic Japanese? Heeeellllooooo" The last word was spoked slowly, as if he was stupid. Lev felt himself frowning.
"Still not answering us? Either you really don't know Japanese, or you're just as stupid as they say you are. Well, us being such good senpai, how about we teach you a lesson?"
That was the only warning Lev got before a fist connected with his stomach, they'd never hit him before. He felt his eyes widen at the impact and he reprimanded himself that all he could think was that they probably couldn't reach his face. An ache started to settle in his stomach.
"The fuck did you just say?!"
He felt instant regret as he realised his last thought may not have been said in his head at all. Another blow to his stomach caused him to bow over, lowering his head. They took the opportunity to get a blow to the side of his head. He could feel himself getting warmer, adrenaline working through his veins from the assualt.
He vision blurred temporarily. Two of them moved to his side and shoved, making him plant his right hand on the wall for support, his wrist jarring at the harsh impact as he stumbled to his knees, his balance skewed with the hits.
"Look at that, ha! Not so tough now, are you? At least you finally fucking spoke though, even if all you can say is stupid shit."
A hand on his shoulder brought his upper body down onto a sharp, bony knee. He knew his stomach was going to hurt a lot tomorrow, the seniors may be shorter than him, but they certainly weren't weak.
One of them grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, the strength of the grip pulling at his scalp as the hair was pulled harshly to make him move how they wanted. He released a snarl before he could register that it might make things worse.
"Getting fiesty now, are we? Well, we'll have to change that, won't we, boys?"
Shadows filled his vision as all three of them crowded his further against the wall his right hand was throbbing against, where he'd balanced himself earlier.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
The three seniors stilled before turning around.
Yaku stood behind them, hands balled on his face, and a scowl on his face, the likes of which Lev had never seen before. Yaku looked terrifying. And the seniors clearly knew who he was, and the strong reputation Yaku had built for himself clearly preceeded him.
"Uhh, well- uh..."
Vague mumbling was the intelligent response the three senoirs surrounding Lev came up with. But as Lev knew, Yaku wanted a proper answer.
"I said, what the fuck do you think you're doing? What? Do you not speak Japanese?"
Lev grinned through slightly bloodied teeth, his lip having been split earlier, at the unintentional jab.
The three senoirs backed up quickly as Yaku slowly advanced, a small sadistic grin painting his face. Though his expression soon smoothed out into something blank as the trio stumbled into Lev, causing him to fall back due to the small push.
"Lev."
He looked up as his name was said, though Yaku didn't look at him, he was till gazing blankly at the three other senoirs, an unintelligible look in his eyes.
"Go to the nurses office, she'll fix you up. I better not see you at practice tonight, you'll need to rest and heal up if you want to become the team's ace."
Yaku knew exactly how to fuel Lev, who winced slightly as he stood up. The wince did not go unnoticed by the hauntinly calm libero.
"Um! Y-yes, Yaku-san!"
Lev did not hesitate to stumble off, only hearing the crack of knuckles before the door leading out of the corridor shut behind him. He heard shouts, but refused to turn around. Yaku was in Mother Mode and he was not going to interrupt. Not unless he wanted to end up in the hospital with more injuries than he currently had.
____________
Lev did as Yaku told him to and went straight to the nurse, who promptly sent him home. He spent the entire time thinking about what Yaku was doing to the trio of seniors to hurt him.
____________
He got his answer the next day when he heard rumours of three seniors being suspended for a week after sustaining some pretty bad injuries. Lev only managed to find Yaku at afternoon practice that day and saw that he was sporting a black eye.
Lev's heartbeat picked up.
Yaku. Short, angry Yaku had beat up three people. For him. Lev could felt his cheeks grow warm as he unknowingly continued to stare at Yaku.
"This is only the beginning of Yaku's mothering career with you, I can feel it."
Kuroo's insightful comment brought him out of his stare-at-Yaku-fest. But Kuroo had already walked away by the time he turned away from Yaku, going over to the other side of the gym to annoy Kenma.
Lev knew what he was about to do was stupid, and would most likely gain him new injuries, but decided to do it anyway.
With purpose in his step, he strode right up to Yaku, who was currently reprimanding Kuroo for annoying Kenma, before he grabbed Yaku's shoulders, turned him around so they were face-to-face (well, as face-to-face as they could be with the height difference), and pulled Yaku forcfully, not giving him a chance to break away, before Lev's long arms had entangled him in a hug.
Yaku had stopped talking in surprise as soon has Lev had grabbed him, shock was the only thing to cover his face, until the realistion that his kouhai was hugging him slowly sank in.
Then, to the entire team's surprise, he hugged Lev back, shoving his face into Lev's chest.
Only Lev, Kuroo and Kenma, as they were the only ones close enough, heard Yaku mumble.
"Just fucking tell me if others are making trouble for you, idiot." Lev knew that insults from Yaku were really just terms of endearment. He smiled down at the head tucked under his chin, his cheeks dusted with a rosey tint.
He slowly pulled away, and smiled at the pink that also decorated Yaku's cheeks, who quickly looked to the side to face Kuroo.
"Well, are we going to start practice at all today? We're never going to win Nationals with this complacent attitude!"
Yaku quickly stomped off to get a ball, desperate for something to do, while the rest of the team looked on in amusement at the scene that had caused Yaku to get flustered, sans Kuroo of course, who stood there properly chastised before coming back into himself.
"Well, you all heard Yaku-chan!" A shout of protest could be heard from Yaku at the honorific.
"Get to work! How about we start with 5 laps of the gym, knees up while you run, people!"
The sadistic grin didn't leave their Captain's face as they were all panting by their third lap, though Kuroo's face does soften as he sees that Yaku and Lev are running together. The taller of the two slowing his strides so that the smaller of them doesn't fall behind.
Kuroo doesn't mention that he noticed Yaku was running faster than usual, too.
He also doesn't mention when he sees them walking home together, holding hands.
He does, however, mention it when he catches them making out in the club room; Yaku's legs wrapped around the half-Russian's waist as he's pushed against the wall. He, in fact, mentions it to the whole team in between fits of laughter before a very flustered and desheveled Yaku rips open the gym door and storms towards Kuroo, who promptly screeches and runs away, quickly followed by their too-quick-for-Kuroo's-health libero.
The rest of the team cover their ears as Kuroo's terrorised shrieks fill the gym, Lev's laughter lighting the mood, and simultaneously turning Yaku's anger on him.
The only one to get out unscathed is Yaku himself.