Chapter Text
Yahaba worries about a lot of things lately, different problems keeping his mind busy, bigger concerns like what he is supposed to do after school or smaller ones like how he is supposed to lead the next training session, but his most prominent thought is: why exactly him?
He shouldn't have saved Kyoutani's number. Or he should have been more careful when he wrote Watari that “No, you don't understand, I might have a crush on him” and send it while being occupied with his studies.
“Wrong number, but whoever guy it is keep it from me. I don't want to understand”, Kyoutani texts back and Yahaba feels a sickness crawling up his stomach, making him afraid of their next training, but whatever Kyoutani might have thought about this accidental confession, he didn't show it.
Practise takes place like usual and he thanks whoever allowed him this peaceful time. But after training ends, Kyoutani starts to glare at him. It's subtle and doesn't seem that much different from his usual star but Yahaba can pick up the change.
And it makes him anxious.
“Why are you starring at me like that?”, he finally says, when they are the only ones left in the changing room, refrains from approaching him, keeps some distance between the two of them.
Kyoutani doesn't seem to care about his defensive behaviour, takes a step closer so that they don't need to have this discussion across the room and more importantly so that he can pick up the changes in Yahaba's composure, something he did more often than not lately, though it had been Watari who pointed it out to him, his willingness to get closer to his teammates by understanding them better.
“Who?”
It takes Yahaba a moment to realise that he is asking who he has a crush on, refers to the message he got, even though it wasn't meant for him in the first place.
“This worries you?”
He might have laughed if it hadn't been so serious.
“Didn't catch you as someone who's homophobic.”
It isn’t fair. Yahaba isn’t fair and he knows that but he had been frustrated for a while and Kyoutani is here and picking a fight with him out of anger than disgust seems better. Saved him his reputation.
“Are you trying to pick a fight?”, Kyoutani growls, fist clenching in irritation, thrown off guard by the sudden aggression in his voice.
“So what? I guess being beaten by a fag doesn't sit well with you.”
One year. He just has to deal with him during his third year and then he would never see him again.
“And who is it?”, Kyoutani asks again, seems more upset about this than Yahaba thought he'd be, brows furrowed, and if Yahaba hadn't been so angry with himself, he might have realised that he was hurt, to know that Yahaba thinks this low of him; that he doesn't act on the impulse to punch him should have been hint enough.
“Who do you think? Do I look like someone who has time to fall in love with someone who isn't near me all the time.”
This was too much information. It seems Kyoutani to take only a few second, thinking about the past weeks he spend by his side along with Watari, how he stayed quiet at the beginning and keeps quiet even now, just speaks up from time to time yet without being asked to answer, acting on his own to be part of their conversation. Still, he takes in the details and it looks like he wasn't so stupid after all.
“Me?”
He doesn't answer though this is answer enough and when he tries to storm off, isn't ready to have this talk with him, would probably never be in his opinion, Kyoutani reaches out for him. The grip is not strong enough though and he can free himself, leaving the ace behind; they don't see each other the rest of the day until practise.
He trains with Kunimi in the afternoon, pretends that this is so that he doesn't slack off yet it doesn't convince all, a few wondering what is wrong with him and Kunimi is one of them. He doesn't voice it though, that's Watari's job.
“Are you going to ignore him?”, he wanted to know during lunch when Yahaba told him about their encounter; Kyuotan hadn't accompanied them and this rarely happened nowadays so of course he had been worried that something grave happened.
“Give me a week, I'll handle this”, he smiled, referring to his own feelings, keeping them in check, but he looked tired and Watari started to worry again.
“Please take care of yourself.”
Yahaba hadn't replied to that.
“Senpai, do you have a moment?”
Kyoutani doesn't want to stay but it doesn't happen often that Kunimi calls him by that honorific or even asks for someone to stay behind.
“Did you fight?”, Kunimi asks as soon as he stands in front of him, doesn't care to explain himself further; Kyoutani is still a bit confused if he preferred silent 1st year Kunimi who is a bit afraid to get on his wrong side or the new observing 2nd year Kunimi who started realising that Kyoutani is actually someone to rely on and not a scary Senior.
“Are you going to poke your nose into something which is none of your business?”
“No”, Kunimi replies, “we're a team”, he adds after a moment, “so it matters if our captain and ace don't work together.”
He does have a point, not that Kyoutani wants to admit it, so he just stars at him without explaining anything which happened, just telling Kunimi that it is Yahaba's failt that he doesn't want to talk.
“You try not hard enough.”
And this hurts probably more than he wants to admit, the truth Kunimi seems to understand while he is still in denial about it.
“Are you hinting that I'm scared?”
Kyoutani doesn't want to talk about this, not with him, but he can't really leave it at that, takes a step closer and while he is sure that Kunimi won't be bothered by this, he wouldn't have expected his next words.
“That he won't take your bullshit? Drop you? Yeah.”
Kyoutani can't believe it. Kunimi is lecturing him, thinks that he understands the situation and acting like he has any right to interfere. It makes him mad, how he is so easily provoked by this or that he can't keep his own emotions in check; denial and truth never got along well.
“Do you want to repeat that?”, he asks, clenching his teeth before he takes another step closer and grips him by the front of his shirt; Kunimi doesn't seem to care.
“But he is one of the few who can deal with you in the first place, next to Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san”, he continues, doesn't break eye contact and keeps a neutral expression on his face.
Kyoutani lets him go, but just to strike out and aim for him; Kunimi anticipated that, dodges and leaves him not enough time to recover before he leaves the gym – Kyoutani is too affected by his words, more than he likes to admit, to follow him.
~
Yahaba is helping Kindachi with his blocking the next day when it happens, hearing worried and shocked voices, turning around at just the right time to see Kyoutani covering his bloodied nose. His gaze shifts to the other side of the net, Kunimi, and he remembers Kindachi saying that “Kunimi asked him to practise serving, so would you help me blocking?”. Yahaba didn't think much about it, considered that Kyoutani wants to practise his receives and that this was one of the reasons – the other one being that he wants to get out of his way – that he accepted (he had no idea that Kunimi apologised for his behaviour of yesterday and Kyoutani offered to practise as a form of accepting his apology).
Yahaba rushes over, worried, and fusses over Kyoutani, drags the other one to the nurse after telling the team to continue with whatever they were doing, pairs Kindachi with two first years and tells Watari to take over Kyoutani's position.
Meanwhile Coach Mizugochi tears up a bit, proud of Kunimi for bringing up the strength and effort to make a serve like that and of Yahaba for acting like a true captain in this situation; aside from Watari, nobody notices the small yet satisfied and smug grin on Kunimi's face (he chooses to ignore it. It's probably better that way).
“Sorry”, Yahaba says when they are alonee in the nurse office and Kyoutani had been treated, like its his fault, but both know that he is apologising for ignoring him, snapping and also falling in love with him.
“Not your fault.” That you're scared, fell in love with me, it just happens.
Yahaba isn't sure whether he should be surprised by this or not, but now that he looks at him more closely, he can see that his shoulders slumped down, the cloth pressed to his nose tinted red and eyes averted.
“It was a mistake. Sending you this message. But this team is important, and I don't want to risk anything by acting like that”, Yahaba mumbles, taking a deep breath, relief flooding him as he was finally able to say what he thought about for a while now.
“You don't even give me chance”, Kyoutani eventually grumbles, puts the cloth aside since his bleeding stopped so that his words aren't muffled.
“Yeah, why would someone like you think of a shallow person like me – wait, what?”
Did he just implied what he thought he did? Yahaba isn't quiet sure about this, what he should make about that; he doesn't have to, as Kyoutani uses the short hesitation, the moment his armour falls, and kisses him It's not the ideal sort of kiss he imagined but at least his nose isn't bloody anymore so it's less of a mess than he imagined.
Despite of this, neither feels ready to confess, to say what they feel, but it's fine and more importantly, it looks like sending the message hadn't been a mistake after all.
“We should go back to practise”, Yahaba says, tries to order him to, but it's difficult to sound stern when Kyoutani's lips are all over his face, leaving kisses on his jaw, along his neck, behind his ear and sneaking a last kiss on the lips when Yahaba pulls away, laughing.
“Okay, I'm serious. We won't be skipping.”
Kyoutani doesn't seem to be to happy about this yet he lets himself be dragged along.
(And in case the team saw them holding hands as they entered the gym again, his gaze silenced them.)