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00.
Sakusa Kiyoomi seems like the last person who would want to date. Right? Atsumu usually gets sorta nosy about it, maybe he just likes ta live vicariously through his teammates, maybe he's just a good neighbor. Fer example, he knows Bokkun's got a boyfriend in Tokyo that comes down every two weeks ta bring him prepped meals. Okay, everyone knows that, but… he knows Hinata's got a thing fer his former setter on the Adlers—okay, everyone knows that, too.
So sue him fer bein' interested, when Omi-Omi of all fuckin' people turns down a perfectly good zombie killin' party fer a date. A date.
"You date?!" he practically shouts, then quiets down when Sakusa gives him a venomous glare. "…Seriously though, is this a one time thing or a long term thing??"
Sakusa snaps a mask over his face. "Long term thing. That's all you're getting out of me today. Bye." He scuttles out of the gym like the germs have grown legs and are comin' to get him.
Atsumu whips around to Bo and Shouyou and Inu-san. "Did you guys know? Did anyone know?"
Hinata shakes his head; Bokuto just shrugs.
"I guess someone has to find him attractive," Inunaki says dryly.
"No, shut up, it ain't about that. Anyone can be hot, if yer datin' long term or whatever ya have ta actually like the guy. An' I dunno about you guys, but that's the part I got a hard time believin'."
Hinata makes a face. "Well, people say the same thing about Kageyama, and I like him anyway. What's it to you?"
"Nothin'! Nothin'. Just curious."
Ha. Just lonely, more like. If a guy like that can pull someone, anyone… why was Atsumu destined to be alone?
01.
The next time he has an opportunity to bring it up… he pounces.
"So, this mystery lover of yours," he says the very next morning, the second Sakusa walks into the gym, "what do they do? Play volleyball? Edit manga?"
"…Model, actually." Sakusa tugs his shirt off, revealing red, honest-to-god scratches on his back that shut Atsumu up immediately. Holy shit.
Then the words finally hit him, and his jaw drops. "…A model? Yer datin' a fuckin' model??"
Sakusa smirks as he zips up his compression sleeves. "Jealous, Miya?"
"No shit I'm jealous! Fuck!" He wanders back to his own locker, changing in a daze. A model?? Probably some gorgeous chick with perfect hair and figure and—
And, inexplicably, he's picturing his best friend in a dress. Look, Sunarin's just… the closest person he knows to the model ideal, okay? Tall and thin and fucking gorgeous, all silky hair and those tilted eyes. He'd probably look amazing in makeup, too. Sharp eyeliner, a little shimmer—
"—ya. Miya!!" It's Meian, looking distinctly unimpressed. "Ya joinin' us today?"
"Be right there!!" he calls out, and slams his locker closed with a little too much force.
02.
It's at a bar that Atsumu learns the next piece of info about Sakusa's datemate. They're drinkin' ta victory, somewhere in Fukuoka after crushing the Green Rockets in three straight sets. They have another game with VC Hiroshima in the morning so they really shouldn't be doin' this, but Bokuto and Hinata can drink like a fish and never have a hangover, fuck you very much, and Atsumu… he just likes to live dangerously.
That Sakusa's with them is only a little surprising. He comes out on occasion, orders a Perrier, and keeps to himself in the corner, but Atsumu's noticed he likes to watch the team get silly. Maybe to feel a part of something—or maybe just schadenfreude.
"Omi," Atsumu braces his elbows on the table, "tell me more about yer hot model girlfriend. How hot are we talkin', here?"
Sakusa raises a brow, shooting him an unimpressed look over the line of his mask. "Well, for one, you're wrong," he says dryly. "I don't have a hot model girlfriend."
Atsumu blinks. "She's not hot??"
That look turns absolutely withering. "I have a hot model boyfriend, Miya."
"…Oh." Oh. Well now he looks like a fuckin' jackass.
"And to answer your question? Very. 12/10. The kind of hot that proves the existence of a higher power." Sakusa sounds insufferably smug about it.
Atsumu's never met a 12/10. Well, that's not true. Sunarin would probably rate at least an 11. Not that Atsumu's into him or anything! He's just… objectively the prettiest guy he knows. Yeah.
"…Is that a problem?" Sakusa says, in a voice that should be cutting but has a hint of something softer to it, something vulnerable. "That I'm dating a guy."
"No! No problem at all, I uh…" Atsumu glances over, but the rest of the team is busy, cheering Bokuto on as he balances a shot on his forehead. "…I like guys and girls pretty equally. I'd be a damn hypocrite if I had a problem with that."
Sakusa's shoulders relax a fraction of an inch. "…Good to know," he says, thumb rubbing over the ribbed top of the Perrier bottle. "Are you—"
"Nah, not seein' anyone. Samu's gay too though, him and his boyfriend are disgustingly cute."
Sakusa huffs a breath though his nose. "Are you sure it's okay to out your brother?"
"Oh, trust me, he does not give a single fuck. Got a big pride flag up in the window of the shop an' if anyone tries ta be bigoted, he kicks 'em out. Lots of aunties sayin' he'll 'lose so much business', meanwhile every queer kid in Kobe comes to do their homework and eat their weight in his boyfriend's gay rice. He's doin' just fine."
Sakusa's wary look softens into something warm. "…That's brave of him. And honorable."
"You should go, sometime. Bring yer boyfriend. He'll be happy ta see ya on his turf fer once." Osamu showed up to vend for all their home games, he definitely knew Atsumu's teammates at this point.
"…I might, at that."
03.
Now that Atsumu knew it was a guy—that Sakusa was into guys, that they were the same—his curiosity about the Hot Model Boyfriend quickly spiraled into something of an obsession.
"It almost sounds like you're into him," Suna says, sounding way too amused. Atsumu continues his push-ups, phone on the floor between his hands with his friend on speakerphone.
"I am not!! He's weird an' offputting, I just need ta know how a guy like Sakusa bagged a 12/10 model! I ain't jealous, I'm jealous of him, yanno what I mean?"
"Oh. You want a hot model boyfriend." Suna's voice drips with sarcasm, and derision. "You know you're a professional athlete, right? There's probably tons of hot tall people throwing themselves at you every day."
Atsumu can hear something in the background, maybe a laugh.
"Wait, wait—is that yer boyfriend? Is that Komori?"
That laugh comes close enough to hear. "Heyy, Atsumu~"
Atsumu likes Komori. He's liked him ever since Youth Camp, ta be honest, he's funny and nice and always makes ya feel good, that kind of guy. When he and Suna started dating… well, Atsumu had felt some kind of way about it, though he'd never been able to figure out what it meant.
"Heyy, Motoya~ listen, Sakusa's yer cousin, isn't he?"
"Sure is." He had a laugh hiding in his words, but unlike Suna, Atsumu could tell it was a well-meaning one. "I hear you found out about The Boyfriend, that's pretty impressive. Kiyoomi isn't exactly forthcoming to most people."
"Oh trust me, I'm aware," he mutters. "What else can ya tell me about 'im? I'm dyin' here, I'm so fuckin' curious, an' I know Sakusa won't tell me shit if I ask him to his face."
"You're cute, Atsumu," Komori says suddenly, and Atsumu almost faceplants onto his phone as his arms give out.
"What—"
"I'll give you one teeny, tiny hint, okay? I can't betray my cousin's trust, but I think this much is all right. You have to do something for me, though."
Atsumu rolls onto his back, panting. At least this wasn't a video call. "What's that?"
"When we play each other in Tokyo next week, come out to dinner with me and Rin."
He can hear some crashing sounds in the background, like someone's knocked something over or run into a piece of furniture or something. Whatever, it's not a big deal, that's what he was plannin' on anyway, wasn't it? They always hang out when MSBY and EJP square off. "Yeah, sure. Sunarin, ya good there?"
"Fine!" he sounds further away. "Don't worry about it!"
"Okay, well." Komori hums. "He is… tall."
"That don't narrow it down Komoron, everyone we know is tall—"
"He's taller than Kiyoomi."
…Okay, what the fuck. Sakusa's one of the taller guys in the JVA at 192.3, offhand he can only think of… like, three guys significantly taller: Barnes, Hakuba, and Hyakuzawa. "We're talkin' significantly, right?"
"At least 5cm taller."
"…The fuck!!"
"Well, he is a model," Suna drawls. "Models come in stringbean shape only."
"That's not hot, Sunarin."
"Speak for yourself, I'm a stringbean and I'm gorgeous."
It was, unfortunately, true. Not that Suna needed to be any more aware of that, or that Atsumu was thinkin' it. "So go be a model, then, I won't hafta see yer dumb face across the net anymore."
"I'm also talented. I could do both."
Yeah, Atsumu thinks, as they keep on bantering, if anyone could pull it off, Suna could.
04.
"I got a question," Atsumu says, accosting Sakusa in the locker room again. "How the fuck is yer boyfriend taller than you?"
Sakusa gives him a look like he suspects Atsumu might actually be a type of very disgusting, very stupid insect. "…Who told you that?"
"Komori, obviously. Next question. Why is he fucking taller than you? How is that fair?"
Kiyoomi strips out of his shirt revealing a web of black sports tape over his shoulders. "Because he is. Is anything peeling off?"
"Nah, yer good." Atsumu pats him on the part where the tape crosses, and Sakusa flinches for a second. Whoops. "Komori said at least 5cm taller. That's insane, what is he doing modeling? Does he want a job? He can take over for Meian and actually block some spikes."
"I heard that!" Meian calls across the locker room. "Yer dead meat, Miya!" He can hear Hinata snickering along with him, too.
Sakusa gives them an amused look, before pulling his practice tee over his head. "He used to play volleyball in high school, but his joints are worse than mine. He had to pick whether to keep playing and ruin them, or do something else." Today he leaves the compression sleeves off, but wraps his wrists, a firm brace that allows for very little motion.
"…Oh. Shit, sorry." Absently, Atsumu reaches out to help steady his arm while he wraps, and this time he lets it happen.
"It's fine. It was years ago." Sakusa pulls out a couple of hairclips and pins his curls back. "I told him to choose his joints, he had plenty of other career options."
"How long have you guys been together?" Years, he says. Atsumu's mind is reeling.
"Three years now." He props his foot up on the bench to tie his shoes. "Hurry up, don't be late again."
Damn. Three years. It seems like an eternity to Atsumu, who had never had a relationship last even a month. An' not fer lack of tryin'! It was just… back in high school, he'd been kind of obsessed with Kita, only ta have ta back off when he chose Osamu. Which was fine. He was well an' truly over it at this point. But… whoever he tried to date always said his heart was somewhere else, an' he couldn't blame 'em. If it wasn't Kita, it was volleyball, if it wasn't volleyball, it was…
Oh shit. Did he like Suna? Did he actually have a crush on his best friend, who was of course datin' someone else that he wouldn't kick outta bed? Is this his fucking life???
05.
On the bus ride up to Tokyo, Sakusa sticks his long legs out into the aisle and unwinds his headphones from around his ipod, because of course he still had one of those.
"Hey," Atsumu says, leaning over the back of the seat. "Hey, Omi."
He glares at him from behind a mask. "What."
"Nothin', just thinkin' is all and… I never asked if yer boyfriend's actually Japanese. It's just pretty rare for a guy ta be that tall, played volleyball, an' I never heard 'a him… but maybe I'm goin' about this all wrong."
Sakusa sighs. His eyes squint like he really, really wishes Atsumu would just shut the FUCK up, but since he won't, he'll have to indulge him. "…He's half-Russian. You might have played him at some point, I don't know."
"Wait—" that's Hinata's voice, from the seat backs ahead of them, and he pops up. "Are you dating Haiba Lev? Are you Lev's mystery boyfriend?!"
Sakusa lets out a deep, deep sigh. "…Yes."
"How the fuck do you know that?!" Atsumu snaps.
"He's my friend!! We game together all the time! He always drops hints about his boyfriend but not the useful kind, it's all like, 'He's the most gorgeous man I've ever met', or, 'He's almost as flexible as me it's really hot', you know, stuff like that."
Sakusa's ears are burning red. "…Dumbass." Atsumu can see an actual smile on his face though, cheeks pushing his eyes up and crinkling at the corners.
"He never told me anything important!! Goddd, I'm gonna kill him later. Wait!" Hinata almost shoots up off the seat. "We were supposed to hang out this weekend! At Kenma's house!"
"Yeah, he's been doing a shoot in Tokyo, it wrapped up yesterday." Sakusa seems to accept that he won't get any rest on this trip, and starts re-winding his earbuds. "He said he was hanging out with friends tomorrow. I was going to bother Motoya."
Abruptly, Atsumu remembers how he got invited to dinner. Which was weird, because again, that's usually always the plan. Him and Sakusa and Bokuto hang out with Suna and Komori and Washio, that's the MSBY-EJP bro time. Why the fuck would they ask him to dinner on top of that.
"We should all hang out!!" Hinata insists. "I can ask Kenma if you guys are invited. I'm sure he'd be fine with it!"
Atsumu opens his mouth to protest, but it's too late. Hinata's a wicked fast texter, and of course Kenma never leaves him on read.
"He says it's fine! Yay, let's do this," Hinata sings.
Sakusa sighs, but. It's actually kind of grossly fond, and he pulls out his own phone, presumably to confirm with his boyfriend. His boyfriend Haiba Lev, who was friends with Hinata, who Atsumu still had no idea who he was or what he was like.
And yet, seeing Sakusa smile down at his phone all soft like that, Atsumu thinks… I'm good, actually. I'm gonna meet him tomorrow maybe, and maybe I'll get taken to dinner after and wish it was a date the whole time, and… and I'm content with that. I'll have to be.
+1.
They beat Raijin after five sets of intense rallies—fuckin' Komori, would it kill him ta be less perfect once in a while??—and on the way out, Atsumu's mobbed by EJP's middle blocker and libero duo.
Suna hooks an arm in his from one side, and Komori hugs his shoulders from the other. "Yes!! Got our boy!" he crows with delight.
"I'm no one's boy, what the fuck," Atsumu says with a laugh.
"Where do you want to go?" Suna asks, sounding… well, not disinterested, he actually sounds like he almost maybe sort of cares, which is. Completely insane, so Atsumu ignores it.
"Um… actually, before dinner, I was kinda thinkin'…" He explains the situation, that Sakusa's long-awaited boyfriend had invited him to hang out at some guy's house and he just really wants to meet him.
"Just fer a bit! I've been hearin' about this guy fer a while, I'm… kinda invested now."
Komori and Suna exchange a glance; what it means, he has no idea. "Sure," Komori finally says. "That's no problem. Are we invited too, or should we just hang out somewhere?"
"I'll ask," Atsumu says, and whips out his phone to text Hinata.
"HE SAYS IT'S FINE!!" he can hear the response clear across the street.
"There we go. He says it's fine."
Kenma's house is fairly large but only a single story, with a wide yard and trees that cut off the property from the spaces around it. Since they were all going to the same place, Hinata ended up joining them on the metro, and they walk the last few blocks to his house chatting about the game.
"You're not seeing Kageyama tonight?" Suna asks Hinata. The Adlers had played the morning game, and anyway it was their home city. Hinata shakes his head.
"Since Lev's in town I really wanted to see him! I can see my friendguy whenever," he says, waving a hand dismissively.
As far as Atsumu understood it, Kageyama and Hinata… weren't dating, but they were in some kind of committed more-than-best-friends more-than-rivals thing. Good for them, he supposed. Whatever works, yanno?
There's a couple of cars in the driveway. A red Subaru hatchback with a cat-paw license plate frame… and a sleek black Acura with an all-leather interior and gold trim. Atsumu whistles.
"Ah, Lev's here already!" Hinata chirps.
Of course. Of course the hot model boyfriend had the hot car.
Hinata types in the keycode to let them in, and they all shuffle out of their shoes. The hallway leading from the genkan quickly opens into a wide, beautiful living room, with a central sunken area holding three sides of couch and a kotatsu in the middle. There's a man in long hair and sweats bundled into the corner, playing a handheld game and only looking up briefly when Hinata comes in.
"Shouyou." He turns back to his game, but he's smiling now.
"Kenma!!" Hinata flies down to tackle him in a hug. "Kenma, this is Miya Atsumu, my teammate, and his friends from Raijin!"
"I know who they are, Shouyou. I watch all your games."
"Oh, right." Hinata's making himself comfortable, cuddling into Kenma's side like a baby bird. "Hey, where's Lev?"
"Kitchen. Kiyo and Kuro are there too." He flicks a look up at the three of them, still milling around. "…Sit down. You're too tall."
They take seats on the couch while Hinata chatters on, asking about this and that, and badgering Kenma a little about not telling him Lev was dating Sakusa.
"…I kind of thought Lev would tell you, since you're on the same team as him," Kenma says dryly. "Don't blame me for this."
"…I'm not really, I promise," Hinata murmurs, and reaches up to poke Kenma in the nose. Kenma just… lets him, lets him do whatever, as long as he can still see his game.
"Out of my kitchen, both of you!!" someone says from down the hall, and a moment later, two tall—incredibly fucking tall—figures come stumbling out.
Stumbling, because the taller one is trying to catch Sakusa's waist, and Sakusa is—
Laughing. Actually laughing; his mask is off, his eyes are bright, he sways into his boyfriend's long arms like it's natural. His boyfriend who is probably just shy of 2m tall, stylish silver hair, gorgeous green eyes, and… yeah. Okay. 12/10. He can see it.
Sakusa's broader in the shoulders and thighs, but standing next to each other, he has to tip his head back just a little to look Lev in the eye, and the whole effect is… insane. Literally. Two hottest people on the planet, probably, and they're looking at each other like that.
"Holy shit," Suna whispers.
Komori, of course, bounces up and goes over to them. "Nice game, Kiyo. Hey Lev~" and they high five, Lev's elegant good looks immediately cracking into a bright, cheerful grin. "We brought you some new friends… that's Rin, my boyfriend, you've heard about him."
Lev waves. "Hey!"
"And that's Atsumu, he's on the Black Jackals with Kiyo." Komori meets Atsumu's eye and winks. "He is also our boyfriend."
It sure is a good thing Atsumu wasn't takin' a sip of anything or he'd be sprayin' it all over Kenma's nice kotatsu.
"…WHAT?!"
Everyone kind of goes… still.
Komori's looking guilty. Suna won't meet his eyes. Everyone else is trying to get as far away as they can from the conversation without taking a step.
"Maybe you three should talk," Kenma says slowly. Then his gold eyes flick up from his game. "But I'm not moving. So either go somewhere else or deal with the consequences of your nosiness and let us all watch."
Sakusa and Lev take a seat across the kotatsu, Sakusa tucking himself in the corner and immediately putting his legs on Lev's lap. Lev flashes him a bright, blinding grin, and wraps his hands around Sakusa's ankle.
Komori tries to say, "Well, we can g—"
"Oh no you don't." Sakusa's staring right at Atsumu, those black eyes drilling holes into his skull. "You pestered me enough about my situation, now it's your turn."
Great. Just great. He was doomed. They were so fucking doomed.
"So uh," Atsumu's voice is tiny, "I take it when you asked me out to dinner, you meant it in a more than friendly sorta capacity?"
Suna lets his head fall back and he groans. "I told you you should have just said it."
"What if he said no?!" Komori drops down into the pit as well, and kneels down in front of Atsumu—practically leaning on his lap, it's not like there's a lotta space. "Atsumu, if I'd asked you out as a date, what would you have said?"
"…I'd ask if you an Sunarin were okay fer fuckin' starters. I'm still gonna ask that, are you guys breakin' up?"
"You're such a fucking moron," Suna groans.
"It's a valid question!" Atsumu shoots back. "What, are ya tryna seduce me inta some kinda threeway relationship over here?"
"YES!!" Suna shouts to the ceiling.
Atsumu's stunned. Absolutely fuckin' floored. They… what? Both of them? Suna and Komori and they just? What?
"I have three parents," a bright voice cuts into the silence, and all eyes snap over to Lev.
"Huh?"
"…I have three parents. They're in a throuple. There's Otousan and Mamka, my birth parents, and their husband, Papa Luka, who's the dad of my brother Viktor. We're… not actually sure who my sister Alisa's related to, she didn't want to find out. So yeah! They've been together since before I was born and they're very happy, so. Throuples are real! Yay." Lev looks all too pleased to be delivering this news.
Komori smiles over at him. "That's really sweet, I didn't know that. Congrats to them!"
"Yeah, congrats," Atsumu mutters faintly.
It's Hinata's turn next. "Well, you know Kageyama and I aren't dating dating. Kenma and I aren't dating-dating either but we're… more than friends? And Kenma's got his actual boyfriend, Kuroo."
"Mm," Kenma agrees, still gaming away. "I'm in love with you, not that it matters."
"Yeah, I know." Hinata pats his knee. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's fine. I'll manage."
Atsumu is… he might be kinda crashin' out here a little bit. What the hell? Just yesterday he was freakin' out because Sakusa Kiyoomi's Hot Model Boyfriend was a sign that he'd be alone forever, and now… now two hotties wanted him?
Suna sighs, pushing to his feet. "Come on, stupid. Let's go out to dinner like we promised. We'll talk, and eat, and go from there. Okay?"
Atsumu nods slowly. Yeah. Yeah, that was… that was okay.
He could feel Sakusa's eyes on him as they stepped out of the pit, though. Atsumu turns back, about to start some shit, but then he goes—
"Miya. Congratulations." Sakusa smiles at him, small but genuine. "Don't overthink it."
How many times had Sakusa said that to him on the court? He had some kinda sixth sense for it, for all of them, whenever they were slipping in some way. Before Bokuto's mood could crash, Sakusa would remind him he was a normal guy. When Hinata got too worked up to see the ball, Sakusa would tell him to take it easy. And Atsumu…
"Don't overthink it." It was a little thing, a little phrase. But coming from someone so fuckin' particular and demanding, it almost felt like freedom. When the King of Overthinking tells ya to stop… he's tellin' you he's assessed the situation, and you can trust him.
All the nerves just flush right outta his body in one go. Atsumu looks over—there's Suna Rintarou, his best friend and also the prettiest person alive (maybe after Lev-and-Sakusa, what the hell). Smilin' at him. Does he wanna kiss that face? Does he want to hold his hand? Fuck yes he does. And there's Komori Motoya, who was worried he was gonna scare Atsumu off by likin' him too much.
His heart squeezes. God damn, he thinks, I am one lucky son of a bitch.
"…I'm not all that hungry after all," he says, as he leans over to tie his shoes. "Let's get somethin' ta go, and head back to the hotel. Okay?"
Suna and Komori exchange a look over his head, but this time he knows exactly what it means.
"…Sounds perfect," Suna murmurs.
+0.
Kuroo comes out of the kitchen, in an apron proclaiming 'I'll feed all you fuckers' in English (a present from Yaku, naturally), shucking the oven mitts off one my one. "Dinner's almost done," he calls out, then glances around.
"So… what'd I miss?"