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It’s past midnight and Kageyama Tobio desperately wants to go home.
Instead of being wrapped in the comfort of his blanket, he is currently trapped in cramped room with a bunch of drunken men – his beloved Japan Men’s National Volleyball teammates and staffs – encircling a stack of emptied beer cans doing the classic ousama game.
Iwaizumi, their coach, had conducted an impromptu boys’ night out with the team. After announcing their brand new line up of roster, the team held their first practice in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. With new addition of star rookies, their coach deemed it was necessary for the team to unwind and warm up to each other. Thus, a welcoming party was held, except that it was pretty messy.
So here he is, in an old family restaurant, with tables and food gone – save for the snacks and drinks, squished in between Atsumu and Hoshiumi.
As the night goes on, the temperature in the room gradually rises ㅡ along with the guys' lively chatters that won't go down any soon. Amidst the chaos, Tobio sits cross legged, looking around for an air conditioner. Alas, none was found. Which means, he had to put up with small rivulets of sweat streaming through his temple down to neck, that made his skin feels impossibly damp and sticky.
Despite being sober, his energy has long ran out and Tobio wants nothing more than to go home and take a long nice bath. Besides, he doesn't feel so safe. The ousama game is stupid and his teammates are ruthless. The orders given by the king had been nothing but ridiculous and straight up mortifying. Tobio had been enjoying the guys' misery but soon, his luck will run out and doom will befall upon him.
Just by thinking about it made him shudder in terror.
While Tobio is all grim and frowns, the same cannot be said about Atsumu.
The older setter is all smiles and sunshine and everything that Tobio is not. He wonders how is it possible for a human being to be this vivacious past midnight when Tobio is close to malfunction. But then, most of his teammates are about the same. Beside him, Hoshiumi is engaged in a not so friendly banter with Hakuba. Then there's Hinata and Bokuto, whose laughter can be heard across the room, loud and brazen.
The guys are basically smashed, face flushed. Even so, they are still rearing to go for another round. They gathered the chopsticks in an empty can and mixed them disorderly ㅡ so no one cheats. Once done, each person takes turn to draw a chopstick. However, Tobio decides to pass this round up. And no one will say anything because they always let him get away with it. He is not too sure how or why did he manage to get this privilege but he is going to use it whenever he feels endangered, like now. When Hoshiumi passes the can to Tobio, he shakes his head without providing any further explanation. Hoshiumi nods solemnly as if he can read Tobio's mind then asks him to pass the can to Atsumu.
Out of nowhere, Yaku hollers. A feral grin paints his face as he flaunts a chopstick that has messy handwriting of king imprinted on it. The crowd groans in unison. The libero pays no mind and chooses his victims.
"Wait, I’ll look up for TikTok videos for number three and number eight to impersonate.” Yaku announces. Soon, a round of rowdy guffaws and seal claps was heard.
Tobio is not sure who gets number three and eight and honestly he doesn’t really care. Next to him, Atsumu beams. Tobio sees and loves the way Atsumu’s amber eyes light up with joy watching their teammates fell into another chaos. He looks content, almost peaceful. Gone was the usual shit-eating grin. He looks, Tobio admits, fine and decent. The kind of fine and decent that made you want to introduce him to your parents.
He wants to blame it on the alcohol but he doesn't drink much because he is a lightweight and he has conscience. But there's no way he'd deliberately thinking about the other setter this way. Because this is Miya Atsumu we’re talking about. An insufferable jerk (Osamu's words, not his) who laughs at his own lame jokes and has a horrible hair color; who reads him like an open book and calls him goody two shoes then made him go through an existential crisis.
He sighs, shrinks in his seat, hugging his knees to his chest. "What's the point of all this? Why do I have to tag along?" He mumbles quietly yet loud enough for Atsumu to hear.
The older laughs heartily, reaching out to muss his unruly locks. Under normal circumstances, Tobio would have swat his hand away but now he is too tired to put up a fight. "It's a welcoming party for the rookies, of course you have to tag along!"
"Except that the said rookies are gone. Iwaizumi-san sent them home at 10 sharp because they are minors."
If there's anything Tobio regrets today, that would be not going home early with the rookies and Sakusa. Having to put up with his teammates' antics in a cramped room is not something he enjoyed, after all.
"It’s fine!" Atsumu insists, leaning in closer to invade Tobio's personal space. Tobio shifts uncomfortably in his seat due to the close proximity. His thoughts about Atsumu earlier resurfaces in his mind.
With a taunting smile, Atsumu proceeds to ask, "Besides, Tobio-kun, you need to live a little, have you ever done something fun in your life?"
Without having to think, Tobio knows the answer in a heartbeat. Atsumu probably knows the answer too. Still, Tobio racks his brain up for something other than volleyball as he stares at the high arched ceiling.
The attempt was, as expected, fruitless.
"Wellㅡ"
"I'm really gonna kiss you here if you answer with volleyball." The older threatens with a light chuckle. There's a glint of mischief in both his eyes and his tone.
Tobio didn't even bat an eye. It was yet another poor attempt in flirting. The older setter had been openly flirting with him since god knows when. When he asked why, Atsumu said that Tobio has the funniest response amongst their teammates. So he answers, flat and candid, "ㅡVolleyball."
There was no kiss as promised, instead there was laughter. Tobio stares as the older falls into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, saying something along the lines of i knew it! He laughs as if Tobio just told him the funniest joke of the century. His laughter melts the unpleasant heat in the room like a warm summer rain. He laughs easy and free and Tobio thinks it's unfair. It's unfair how he looks ridiculously radiant.
Then, suddenly, a fleeting memory comes to mind. He recalls something Osamu told him back then when he visited Onigiri Miya; that his twin is all bark and no bite. Tobio was never sure of what to do with that information until now.
Prompted by a strange force, Tobio dares, "Are you not going to kiss me?"
The boisterous laughter dies down, Tobio notices. Atsumu stills, eyes wide at the unforeseen question. It must have feels like a bolt from the blue, since it renders him wordless. Atsumu feigns a cough as he adjusts the air on his face hastily, putting on his usual smug demeanor back. But Tobio notices it all, thanks to the cramped room and close proximity they're in, he notices the way Atsumu's eyes twitch in disbelief. And oh god, it was amusing. It’s not everyday you get to see The Miya Atsumu at loss for words.
At this point, Tobio thinks, he deserves an Oscar for not showing any kind of triumphant snicker even though he badly wants to laugh.
All bark and no bite huhㅡ
To his surprise, Atsumu cradles his face in his hands and leans in close, their noses barely brushing. His palm rough against his cheeks, calloused from years of toils. Tobio tenses involuntarily at the contact. "Wanna have a go then?" He suggests in a low voice. The corner of his lips quirks into the on-brand Miya Atsumu smirk. A smirk his teammates would often describe as punchable.
He sees his own panicked reflection on Atsumu's golden eyes then he wishes to dissolve into a speck of dusts. Is karma supposed to come this fast? His breath hitches and his lungs burns but he can't look away. From the corner of his eye, he spots Suna whisking out his phone for (probably) blackmail against Atsumu yet Tobio finds himself unconcerned.
Before he knows it, Atsumu is leaning into his space with eyes half closed. The moment their lips brush tentatively, his surrounding ceases to exist. Warmth blooms in his chest, spreads, and consumes his whole being. This whole exchange ignites a whole new spark in his core. A foreign sensation; something different from the ones he felt on court. Everything feels unreal, like a figment of his own dreamscapes ㅡ except that he never dream of being held, ever so gently, by his own co-worker.
Tobio proceeds to hold his wrist and kisses back tenderly. Atsumu’s lips were impossibly soft against his own. He could taste the faint liquor on the tip of his tongue. On impulse, he pulls the older setter in, claiming his mouth again and again.
When they pull apart, Tobio notices that Atsumu is equally flushed and flustered as he is. This, somehow, puts his mind at ease.
"I didn't think you'd actually do it." He blurts out nonchalantly, breaking the awkward silence.
At this, Atsumu whips his head and turns to face the younger, looking scandalized. "You're the one who provoke me!"
"You are the one who told me you were going to kiss me first!" He hisses, eyes narrowed. And because he feels like he owes the older an explanation for his impulsive and out of character behaviour earlier, he adds, "Osamu-san said I should tease you back when you tease me, he said that would silence you... so I did..."
Atsumu sighs, running a hand through his disheveled blond locks, cursing his twin brother under his breath. He looks stupidly attractive even with sweats rolling through his neck and hair a mess.
"Sorry, that must have sucked, that was my first time." Atsumu confesses, not meeting his eyes.
It's Tobio's turn to look scandalized.
"What?” He hisses with a frown. “Are you one of those people who thinks I slept with a dozen of people before?"
The answer is yes but he shakes his head because Atsumu looks genuinely offended and Tobio feels bad. It's absurd, Tobio thinks, with his reputation, looks, ability to charm people, and especially those thighs, who wouldn't want him?
"It's okay. I don't know the standard to a good kiss myself." Tobio shrugs, trying to be casual. And before he can stop himself, he adds, "But if you want, we can practice until we're good at it."
He tilts his head to meet Atsumu’s gleaming golden eyes. He waits until the older setter laughs and turns him down with a this is not volleyball, you know, but the rejection never comes. Instead, Atsumu shifts closer and slips his fingers into his own adamantly. Too stunned, Tobio opts to ignore Hoshiumi’s gross, go get a room! and Aran’s traumatized face but when he sees Atsumu sticking his tongue out at Suna who flaunts his middle finger at them, Tobio can’t help but crack a little smile.
"Sounds like a plan." He responds and Tobio wants to thank his noisy teammates for concealing his loud thumping heart.
Tobio decides that Osamu is a liar. Because his twin brother is not only all bark but also bites. Osamu will have to compensate him with a lifetime of free onigiris for the damage his brother had done to him and his poor little heart.