Chapter Text
It's common for a volleyball to soar all the way up to its highest peak, spending several moments in the air spinning freely, soaking the glory of being at the top. However, at some point, regardless of whether it's willing to or not, it would have to fall and ungracefully land on the floor as part of its fate.
Fukurodani's boys' volleyball club is similar to the ball they use to play in this sense. They're at the top of their game most of the time, but it's not every day that they're in tip top shape. As a matter of fact, this specific thought crosses your mind when an off day befalls the vice captain of the team, one late afternoon in the middle of practice.
"Is something bothering you, Akaashi?" Coach Yamiji chooses his words carefully when speaking to the boy. "You seem to be having a hard time concentrating."
Akaashi keeps his eyes on the floor as he answers truthfully. "I'm sorry. There's a lot going on in my mind right now."
"I see. I don't think playing would put you at ease. Why don't you sit this one out first, see if you could sort yourself out?"
Usually—that's whenever Bokuto is off his game—the other members would be shaking their heads, sporting an annoyed expression, or making efforts to lift their emotional captain's spirits up. In Akaashi's case, it's evident that all of them are genuinely concerned.
You are, too, as you could tell the suggestion of a break only made the setter unhappier. He was about to respond, most likely with a polite refusal, but another voice chimed in before he could.
"You're only thinking of what's best for the team, right?" Everyone's heads turn to Bokuto when he speaks. His hands are on his hips and an unusually serious aura surrounds him. "Well, let me tell you this: a worn out player like you isn't going to benefit anyone on the court."
Yikes.
You almost flinch at his words. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room was thicker. Konoha doesn't hesitate to elbow Bokuto's side after his blunt statement. "How is that going to help him, nimrod?"
"Ow! I was just trying to say that he should rest!"
Ignoring the bickering duo, Washio makes sure that Akaashi gets their point. "Bokuto's not wrong. Burning yourself out isn't going to help anyone, especially not you, Akaashi."
With these words, you realize that they weren't trying to be nice to the setter. Nor were they coddling him the way Bokuto would've wanted them to if he were in his shoes. The key to reassuring Akaashi was honesty - a reality check, if you will. He kept silent during the time his seniors spoke, absorbing their words like a sponge. When you observe that tears are starting to form in his eyes, you're instantly alarmed.
"...You're right," Akaashi's response comes with a sob, taking everyone by surprise. He's crying now. You're all at a loss for words at the sight of him giving out.
You weren't sure if the others felt the same, but it pained you to see him in tears. You wonder if saying something would help. Probably not. Enough words were said earlier.
Still, you figure that anything would be better than nothing. Should you make a move then? But how?
Something clicks inside your brain soon enough, and you begin to approach Akaashi carefully.
You don't know if he—or anyone else present in the room for that matter—is going to appreciate it, but you don't bother dwelling on the thought and trudge on. His glassy eyes meet yours for a brief moment, looking clueless as to why there was someone right in front of him. He seemed ready to ask, though you've engulfed him in your warmth before he could say anything.
It took him longer than usual to register what was going on.
The manager was giving him a hug. Despite some of the inconsistencies they've had in the past, you've never had to console anyone on the team like this. This is new. Unprecedented. Uncalled for, most of all. You had the whole group gaping, and Akaashi froze on the spot.
It's a known fact that the vice captain stores too many thoughts in his head for anyone to count, but not once did an idea similar to his current situation ever cross his mind, where the manager would be nursing him so gingerly after he breaks into tears. Does he take pleasure in it now that it's happening? Yes. He most certainly does.
He keeps that to himself, of course.
"Sorry," You apologize softly as you hold him, making him slightly confused. "This was all I could think of."
He realizes that he hasn't moved the whole time; his arms were just hanging stiffly on his sides. He quickly changes that by returning your embrace.
"This is enough." He smiles while he rests on your shoulder, tears beginning to dry on his cheeks. As you maintain that position for several moments, you start hearing complaints from the group behind you.
"I… I suddenly don't feel well either," Konoha states after deciding that he can't afford to lose to his junior. "[Name]! I need a hug from you too!"
Komi follows his teammate's footsteps rather quickly. "S-So do I! I'll be able to play better if you-"
"What, are all of you going to start vying for your manager's affection?" Coach Yamiji butts in to extinguish the flame before it turns into wildfire. "Akaashi, take a seat. The rest of you, get back to practice!"
In spite of the disappointment some of them (Konoha and Komi) felt, the members shuffled back to their designated positions. You decide not to wait to be called on as well and pull away from Akaashi so he could settle down.
"Thank you." He says with a smile, which you reciprocate gladly.
"Don't mention it." You motion for him to sit next to Coach and trail after him when he does.
Training resumes without further delay. Coach Yamiji leans backwards and faces the direction you were at, communicating that he wanted to have a word with you. You mimic his posture by tilting yourself back the same way, taking the hint that he didn't want to make Akaashi aware of your discussion.
'Will he be okay?' Is what you read from his lips.
Your eyes flicker to the setter for a brief moment before you mouth some words back. 'I think so.'
You reflect on your earlier actions while spectating practice. It came to mind that when you held Akaashi, he must've been in his most vulnerable state. Something about the thought sends a chill down your spine.
The volleyball may be on the floor right now, but it's only a matter of time before it finds itself at the top of the court again.
The boys decided to go running after being dismissed for the day. Akaashi had to assure them that he was feeling better, otherwise he would've been left behind. They've put a good distance between them and the school when they find themselves sprinting towards the top of a hill. They stop midway to catch their breath, all of them panting except for the captain himself - he had to go back a few steps because he was ahead of everyone else, and even then he still seems to have a lot of stamina left in him.
"So," Akaashi was slouching forward with his hands on his knees when Bokuto walked up to him. "I think we all want to know what was bothering you."
Akaashi looks up to see that everyone was eyeing him with a hint of worry, proving Bokuto's words to be true. The latter must've realized he was potentially prying because he hesitates right after.
"Uh, but it's okay if you don't want to talk about it! We just want to know if we can help."
Akaashi takes a seat on the rough surface of the road, ready to spill the beans. "Thank you for your concern. I was thinking about nationals."
Bokuto meets gazes with his other teammates, his eyes saying 'Ha! I totally called that one!'. The third years dismiss his childlike behavior, shifting their attention back to their junior.
"I guess you wanted to up your game as soon as possible before the next tournament," Sarukui scoots closer to Akaashi, who nods to confirm his theory. The latter receives a pat on the back from his senior as a means to be assured. "There's no need to rush. We're all on the same boat."
Akaashi nods again, more motivated this time. "Yes. I'm looking forward to evolving as a team."
"We should ask [Name]-san for a copy of our last match so we can go over it and see what we should work on," Onaga makes a suggestion that all of them seemed to be in favor of. However, at the mere mention of your name, Akaashi's mind wanders to a place he only recently knew. His face reddens as he recalls what happened earlier that day.
Bokuto witnesses this, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of his friend getting flustered. "Speaking of [Name], I caught Akaashi taking one last glance at her before he left the gym."
Komi cackles at the sudden disclosure. "Is that so? You should've stayed behind if you wanted to be alone with her!"
"You guys are reading it wrong," Akaashi tries to save himself from further embarrassment by answering calmly. "She was just looking out for me like she always does with the rest of the team. I thought I should check on her before we left."
"Except she doesn't hug the rest of the team like she hugged you today," Objection is heard from Washio. "She's never done that to Bokuto, and he's the moodiest one out of all of us."
"Well, I think that's because Bokuto-san never cried in front of her." Akaashi's fixed on denying the idea, but his efforts were like building a sandcastle with dry sand.
"Or because she's into you," Smugness is plastered all over Konoha's face as he says this, his elbow propped up on Akaashi's shoulder. It's one guy against a whole group now; there was no hope of winning for the vice captain.
"I think we've been here long enough," Akaashi resorts to evading the subject by creating a new one, getting himself back on his feet. Though the rest of them have no plans of allowing him to live it down, they seem to agree from the way they copied his movements. "We should get-"
"Alright, no stopping now. We're almost at the top!" Bokuto sprints onward and upward as soon as he's warmed up, leaving the rest of them to eat his dust.
"...I was going to say we should get back to school," Akaashi watches as the ace fades out of sight, having no intention of following him. When he faces his other teammates, they're about as ready to go home as he is.
"We'll go with you," Is their simple reply before they begin their jog down the hill, opposite of where Bokuto went.
You're on your way out of the campus when you see the captain standing outside of the boys' locker room.
"It's just you, Bokuto-san? Where are the others?" You approach him before he could notice you.
"Oh, [Name]!" He greets you with his usual enthusiasm, hand resting on the doorknob. "Why are you still here?"
You tilt your head to the side to motion towards the girls' locker room. "A friend stopped by to borrow notes. And the guys? Didn't you all go running together?"
"Yeah, but I don't know where they went. We were almost at the top of the hill when we took a short break, and then when I said we should start running again they just disappeared." You can't help but feel sorry for the upperclassman after learning why he was all by his lonesome.
"I see." Those sissies. You ought to give them a lecture about ditching Bokuto the next time you see them at practice.
"Are you about to go home?" He asks. You nod in return, though you'd hate to leave him alone when it's already been done to him once.
"Do you want to walk home together?" You offer without thinking much of it. He's initially surprised, but he beams in an instant.
"Sure! Can you wait for me to get changed?"
"Absolutely." You smile at him before leaning against the wall beside the door. "You should hurry though, it's getting dark."
"Will do!"
"What a day, huh?" Bokuto initiates a conversation as soon as you begin your walk with him. He had his necktie loose, blazer unbuttoned, and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. You stifle a laugh as you eye his appearance - it was by far the most Bokuto look you've ever seen.
"Mm-hmm. I didn't expect it to be so emotional." Your gaze shifts to where the campus exit awaits.
"Say, how come you never gave me hugs before? I get emotional too, even more so than Akaashi."
It's an odd question to ask, but you tap your chin with your finger while thinking of an answer.
"That's because they're only for special cases, Bokuto-san."
He grew quiet after your response, so you glance at him and see that he's been looking at you like you just stabbed him in the back.
"Are you trying to say… that I'm not… special…?"
Oh.
How careless of you.
Luckily, you're the manager of the boys' volleyball club, so you're used to dealing with his behavior by now. You simply laugh at his reaction to your words, which confuses him even more.
"That's not what I meant, Bokuto-san." You offer him a smile as you speak. "I've never seen Akaashi in that state before. It felt… a little heavy. I just did what anyone else would do when they see a significant person crying - give that person a hug."
Bokuto seems to want to hear more, so you add a simple conclusion to your explanation. "And, well, I've never seen you cry."
He's apparently satisfied with this as he reverts back to his lively self. "That's what Akaashi said too!"
"Oh, you brought it up with Akaashi too?"
"Kinda," Bokuto lets out a chuckle as he seems to recall events which you were oblivious to. What on earth did they talk about while they were running? You're suspicious for a moment, but you decide to shrug it off soon after.
"Now that you mention it, Akaashi is a significant person to you, no?" You face Bokuto and expect to find a teasing visage, but he turned out to be sincere in asking the question. "You're the only other member of the club who's in the same year as him, so you must have developed some sort of special understanding with him over the past year." He continued.
You ponder on his words as you walk. Truth be told, you and Akaashi get along well, and that's probably because you both take your duties as club members seriously. You're reminded of a time from your freshman year while thinking about it.
("What's that?" You look up at the only other first year student in the room, seeing that he was eyeing the page you've been writing on.
"Oh, um," You tilt your notebook up by reflex so your notes would be hidden. "This is a little embarrassing, but I've been keeping track of Bokuto-san's weaknesses by writing them down. I thought it might be an advantage to the team if we knew him better."
Not far from where you sat, Coach Yamiji can be seen giving Bokuto the scolding of his life. He's already had four mood drops since the start of the week, and it's only Wednesday.
"You do that too?" Akaashi's eyes are glinting over what he just heard. "I also take note of his troubles, though I don't write them down - I just keep them all up here." He points to his temple.
"Really? That's impressive," The pitch of your voice heightens, as if you just discovered that you and Akaashi have the same favorite TV show. "Especially since it's a pretty long list. I've written 18 so far, including the one from today."
"That's the same number as mine. Can I see if I've gathered the same things as you?"
"Sure thing." You reply with a nod, and he claims the vacant seat next to you before you hand your notes over to him.
From the way it looked, Coach Yamiji's lecture to Bokuto was going to take longer than you thought.)
The number of weaknesses you've noted from Bokuto is way past 18 now. If Akaashi still chooses to store all of that in his head, then it's no wonder he's prone to burning out.
"I guess we do understand each other," You smile beside the captain as you admit this. "Don't we all though? Isn't that what makes our team, well, a team?"
"That's true," Bokuto says after a moment of thought. "Man, I can't believe we'll be leaving soon. I might actually cry."
You chuckle lightly, ignoring the fact that the mention of their retirement gave you cold feet. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to keep the number of crybabies in the group at one."
Bokuto guffaws at your reply. "Don't worry, I won't be causing any more trouble for you!"
Now it's your turn to laugh at him. "That's like saying you'll never play volleyball again."
"Hey!" He pouts at you. "...I meant for today only."
You continue your playful banter until you arrive at your stop. A bus is about to halt in front of you when you bid your goodbyes to one another, so your parting words to him were a little rushed.
"Also, you guys better win every match in the future before leaving high school." You say with a hint of assertiveness.
Bokuto gives you a knowing smile in return. "We'll play until we reach the final round of nationals, you'll see."
You mark his words as you board the bus, waving at him through the window before you're sped away. He continues his walk home when you're no longer in sight, feeling more determined than ever.