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"Are you alright, Hinata?" Meian asked when he noticed the anxious look on his face when he stumbled into the locker room.
"I'm in love with, Atsuma-san!" Hinata blurted out before he could stop himself. His eyes widened in panic as he looked around the room and sighed in relief when he realised Atsuma wasn't there. Though it didn't help calm down his heart, which felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.
"That's fantastic!" Bokuto exclaimed as he clapped Hinata on the back. "When are you going to tell Tsum-Tsum?" He asked cheerfully. The thought of his two friends finally getting together had him buzzing with excitement.
"I'm not t-telling him," Hinata stuttered.
Meian sighed. He had thought Hinata would've been the smart one out of the two, but that clearly wasn't the case. "And why not?"
"Because Atsuma-san would never have liked me in that way," Hinata said, shyly as his face went bright red from the thought of Atsuma having any feelings towards him.
"He's an idiot," Sakusa muttered.
"Sakusa, you're not helping," Meian scolded. They needed to think of a way to convince Hinata to confess his feelings to Atsuma, so they could finally stop watching them pine after each other. It was as funny at the beginning, seeing them be so oblivious to what was right in front of them, but now it was painful to see.
"Wait, why are you all not surprised?" Hinata hesitatingly asked. Their reaction to his confession was strangely calm.
Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It was obvious," he explained. He felt kind of bad because it was clear that Hinata had just realised he had feelings for Atsuma and was in the middle of having a crisis.
"So, Atsuma-san probably already knows and didn't say anything because he didn't want to make things awkward?" Hinata quavered. It made sense that Atsuma wouldn't want to bring it up in case it affected the team.
"If he noticed we wouldn't be having this conversation," Sakusa stated dryly. The tiredness in his voice was apparent.
"Sakusa, please," Meian said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He could already feel the headache coming on.
Hinata slapped his face in an attempt to make himself focus. "I just have to act normal. I can do that," he asserted. He worked hard to be a professional volleyball player, and Hinata wasn't going to let his feelings make things uncomfortable for Atsuma because he knew how much the team meant to both of them.
One look from Meian was enough for Sakusa to close his mouth and not mention the comment that was on the tip of his tongue.
"I'm just going for a quick run to clear my head and forget that I'm in love with Atsuma-san," Hinata muttered loudly to himself. It made his heartache, though, because he didn't want to forget the feeling, but he had no choice. He refused to make things difficult for Atsuma and the team. Hinata then spun around, and it felt like his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he saw Atsuma standing by the doorway, frozen in place. Hinata was never so grateful that there was another exit on the other side of the room, but before he could reach it, a hand grabbed his arm, stopping him from escaping.
"Yer in love with me?" Atsuma asked in a state of disbelief.
Hinata was sure his face was on fire, so all he could do was nod, not trusting his voice to turn and face Atsuma.
That's all it took for Atsuma to cling to Hinata like his life depended on it. "I love ya, too, Shouyou-kun," he whispered for only him to hear.
Did he actually pass out and was dreaming because Hinata couldn't believe what he was hearing? "You do?" He mumbled.
Atsuma sighed dreamily, "More than anythin'." He felt giddy. He never imagined that Hinata could possibly feel the same way. It made him question how much time they had wasted.
Hinata's breath caught in his throat. What did he do to deserve those words to be uttered with such devotion?
The moment was broken when Meian clapped his hands together, causing Hinata and Atsuma to jump apart from one another. "I'm happy for you two, really. This day has been a long time coming, but practice starts shortly," Meian reminded them. He wouldn't mind watching the two fools for a bit longer, but the last thing they needed was for their coach to come looking for them, wondering where they were.
"Y-yes, Captain," Hinata stammered. He had forgotten that some of his teammates were present.
Atsuma grinned as he wrapped his arm around Hinata's shoulder, pulling him close. "Whenever have we been late to practice?" He and Hinata were usually the first ones to arrive and always the last to leave. That wasn't going to change now that they were together. Well, Atsuma assumed they were together since they both admitted to being in love with each other. After practice, he was going to ask Hinata out on a date.
"We take v-volleyball very s-seriously." Hinata cursed himself for stumbling over his words again.
Meian cleared his throat to stop himself from laughing at them. "And if I see any PDA on the court, I'll have both running laps until you collapse, got it?" He threatened light-heartedly.
"Yes, Captain," They both exclaimed.
Bokuto playfully nudged Meian in the side as he chimed in, "Awww don't be cruel. It's young love."
"He's doing us a favour, Bokuto. With how Miya acts around Hinata when they were just friends was sickening enough." Sakusa shuddered at the thought of how insufferable Atsuma will be around Hinata from now on.
"Let's go, Shouyou-kun. We have practice," Atsuma practically yelled as he started to push Hinata towards the exit. His ears were burning from embarrassment. He hadn't thought he acted that obvious around Hinata that even Sakusa of all people picked up on it. He had been so certain Osamu was the only one aware of his feelings for Hinata.
Did Atsuma and Hinata end up having to run laps? Yes.