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It's not often Tsubakihara's volleyball team has practice during the weekends. This Saturday is one of those occasions, much to Himekawa's (and a few other's) reluctance. A conversation is heard as the boys are getting ready in the club room.
"Where's Tsukioka and Mikawa?" The soothing-voiced captain Echigo asked.
"Tsukioka's attending his brother's wedding," wide-eyed Atema answered. "Not sure about Dai, though. I think he's sick or something."
Meanwhile, Himekawa was fixing his rosy-tressed bangs away from his eyes as his phone chimed. He picked up his phone, the name "Heisuke" appearing on the screen.
heisuke:
guess where i am ( - ᴗ •́ )
The text was followed by an image of a very familiar train station in Yokohama. Himekawa's eyes glittered with stars, barely containing the gasp that escaped his lips.
aoi:
no way... you're here???
heisuke:
yup! ^^ visiting family for the weekend
maybe we can meet up later? after i settle my stuff at my cousin's place
aoi:
i wish i could but i have practice today (ノ_＜。)
heisuke:
aww :(
Himekawa pouted. Seriously? Occupied on the day his hazel-eyed lover is in town. Is a messenger god with winged sandals messing with him? How cruel... Then his phone chimed again.
heisuke:
where is tsubakihara btw?
aoi:
a bit far from the station
why?
heisuke:
what if i went to your school?
aoi:
WHAT ( Д ) ﾟ ﾟ
pls tell me you're being serious
heisuke:
well, i can't make any promises but i could try?
i just wanna see your face, aoi (T△T)
aoi:
me too (T^T)
i gtg, i think we're abt to start warming up
heisuke:
alr then..
bye hime, love you! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
aoi:
love you too! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹𝟹
Himekawa put his phone in his bag before leaving the club room, a little bounce in every step he took. The world seemed to glow in pink and yellow. If flowers bloomed from his head, his hair would be crowned with white carnations right now.
"Himekawa, you good?" A curious Kaikake approached him. "You're breathing a little weird there."
"Huh?" Desire-breathing Himekawa didn't realize he was close to hyperventilating. A few more rapid breaths came out before laughter escaped.
"Um..."
"Nothing, nothing! I'm fine, just... happy, that's all."
In the first two hours, Tsubakihara noticed the absolute joy radiating off of their first-year. They were used to his honeyed smile, but this one had more than the bumbling bees can make. It was as if the bright-eyed Himekawa brought a piece of The Sun Himself to the gym. Whatever the cause of his joy, it seemed to bring some improvement, and surprisingly a boost of team morale as well.
"You're in a good mood today, Hime!" The cloud-gatherer Maruyama rested his arm on the joyous boy's shoulder. "Did something happen?"
"You could say that," gracious Himekawa chuckled, the sound squeezing Maruyama's sky-veiled heart.
"Oh, really now? What's the occasion?" The towering Teradomari approached the two from behind. "Are you seeing somebody?"
It took a lot of restraint from Himekawa to not flinch, letting out a quiet "ki!". Right, he hasn't told his teammates about Riseki yet. It's not like he's keeping it a secret on purpose. He just forgets to tell anyone, that's all. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Aoi. Seriously, what is stopping him?
"Himekawa...!" Teradomari chirped. "Your silence speaks volumes!"
"No it doesn't..." Himekawa's fluttering pulse spoke for him.
"Ooh, does Himekawa have a girlfriend?" Gossip-loving Maiko couldn't help but join in. "Who's the lucky lady?"
"Uh..."
"Wow, is this true? Hime's dating someone?" Atema's ever-seeking mind chimed in as well.
"I— well..."
"Himekawa got a date before me? Unbelievable." Longing-filled Iwamuro pouted.
"Guys, stop teasing him." Soft-clouded Maruyama motioned his hand like a fly swatter. "Besides, we don't even know if it's someone or a date."
"Kinda? I guess," Himekawa murmured before his eyes go wide. This only caught the team's attention even more. Oh stars, why did I say that?
"You're dating someone?!" Kaikake exclaimed, shaking the harmony in the gym.
Luckily the soul-pleasing Echigo was here to save Himekawa before they could ask further questions. "Break's over, you can all stop. Don't make him answer questions he doesn't want to."
A chorus of "fine" and "okay" is heard among the boys before continuing on with practice. Only the third-years remained with Himekawa.
"Thanks, capt—"
"C'mon, you're telling me you don't wanna know who our little kohai's dating?" The ever meddling Teradomari ruffled Himekawa's rose-honeyed locks.
"My hair..." Himekawa tried to push the tall wheat's hand off his head
"It's really not our business." Echigo rolled his eyes. "And we have better things to do than gossip about Hime's love life."
"Says the guy who always flocked to us when he doesn't know what to gift his own girlfriend," storm-bound Maruyama retorted.
"What does that have to do with anything? Also, you and Tera are infinitely worse."
Practice went on for another 2 hours. Despite the small mishap with his nosy teammates, Himekawa's tender-loving world still glowed in pink and yellow. His lover was in town, after all. Even though meeting up may not be guaranteed, knowing Riseki's nearby presence is enough to get him by. Oh you sweet little hollyhock...
Now as The Sun Himself flew to the center of the sky, it was time for lunch. Tsubakihara sat in a circle on the gym floor, each with their own bento.
"Itadakimasu!" the team chorused as they began to eat.
Feast-hearted Kaikake hummed. "Mom's cooking is so good!"
"Hey, can I have some—"
Iwamuro slapped Atema's famine-tempered hand away. "Get your greasy fingers away from my food!"
"Greasy?!"
Himekawa watched and chewed as everyone laughed and ate. His mother had prepared him chicken teriyaki for his lunch. It's one of Heisuke's favorite foods... He thought. This was starting to get ridiculous. He wanted to scream but unfortunately can't due to systematical etiquette.
"Himekawa, why are you staring so lovingly at your teriyaki?" Cloud-wandering Maruyama noticed, followed by stares from everyone else.
"Huh? Lovingly...?" Did they catch him daydreaming? Hopefully it wasn't for too long.
"Is your lunch that good?" The ever-hungry Atema joked. "Can I have some?"
"No!" Himekawa took a bite of his food, to really get the point across. This is Heisuke's, not yours.
"Stop being such a glutton, Atema!" Maiko pinched the eater's side.
"Ow, ow! Stop that!" Atema rubbed his side. "The Moon Herself forbid I want a bite of everything. And what happened to 'sharing is caring'?"
More giggles filled the gym. Food really does bring people together. It wasn't long until the team had a visitor.
"Excuse me..."
All of Tsubakihara turned to the voice. It belonged to a tall boy with short black hair and hazel eyes. He entered from one of the side entrances of the gym. Himekawa's star-lit eyes grew wide, inching to jump to his feet.
"Yes? Can we help you?" Echigo spoke.
"Is Himekawa Aoi here?" The boy asked.
Teradomari glanced at their first-year. "Yeah? And you are...?"
"Heisuke!" Soft-hearted Himekawa practically flew towards the boy. He wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Aoi!"
The team simply watched in awe as the ebon-haired boy kissed Himekawa on the forehead. Upon hearing their first-year's tuneful giggles, it felt like their hearts were being stabbed. It was indeed such a beautiful sound. But who is this "Heisuke"? Himekawa had never mentioned anybody of that name before.
"I was worried I wouldn't be able to come here. My cousin kept bugging me." Riseki pulled away from the hug.
"It's alright. I'm just really glad to see you again!" Himekawa beamed. If you look hard enough, heart shaped bubbles are floating above his head.
-What on earth is happening? Who is that?- Rumor-footed Maiko whispered to Atema.
-You think I know?- Atema whispered back. -But they're kinda cute together.-
"Also, I got you something." Riseki handed a paper bag to Himekawa.
"Huh? What's this?" Himekawa opened the paper bag.
"It's just another sketchbook, even though I know you already have tons of them," Riseki explained as Himekawa pulled them out of the bag. "There's also a pack of stickers. Look, they're foxes!"
"Wait... Holy stars! I've been looking for stickers like these everywhere!" Himekawa's grace-filled eyes shined even brighter before putting them back in the bag. "I can finally make your page on my scrapbook!"
Laughter-loving Himekawa littered Riseki's rosy cheeks with kisses in between him saying "thank you!" repeatedly. Tsubakihara never would've guessed how smitten the boy was for this "Heisuke". And of course, somebody had to ruin the moment.
"Hello? Did you forget that we're here?" The towering Teradomari was now stood in front of them, earning a gasp from Himekawa. "Mind telling us what's going on?"
"Tera...! Um..." Himekawa tried not to hide behind Riseki.
"Dude, you're scaring him." Quiet-hearted Echigo smacked the tall wheat's back. "What Tera meant is, are you gonna introduce us to your... your...?"
"Oh, right." Himekawa exhaled, holding Riseki's hand. "This is Riseki Heisuke, my boyfriend."
If this were a TV show, the sound of a record scratch would be heard in the background. The entire team could have sworn they heard the last word in slow motion. First there was silence, then a chorus.
"WHAT? BOYFRIEND?!" They all crowded Himekawa and Riseki.
"You? And this guy?" Teradomari pointed at the two.
"He just said his name," Echigo said, earning a shrug from the tall wheat.
"Nah, this can't be real..." Iwamuro put a hand to his head. "Mother Nature's pulling a prank on us."
"How—when—what—WHAT? When did this happen?!" Maruyama's thunder-clouded hands flapped. "Is he really your boyfriend?!"
"Yes...?"
"Himekawa is a flower vase?!" Nobody knows what Maiko meant by that.
"Why didn't you tell us you have a boyfriend?" Wide-eyed Atema couldn't believe it.
"I was going to..."
"How old are you? Where are you from? What's your birthstone? How did you meet Hime? Do you play volleyball?" Kaikake let out all his questions.
"Um... One at a time, please..." Riseki's shoulders tensed.
"Okay guys, settle down!" The tempering captain Echigo stood between the team and the lovers. "I know this is big news, but please, chill the fuck out."
He turned to look at Riseki. "It's nice to meet you, Riseki. Wanna join us for lunch?"
"I already ate, but sure!"
The chaos had luckily phased out once everyone sat back in a circle on the floor, this time with Riseki seated next to Himekawa. Tsubakihara kept glancing at the tall boy, though it's more out of fascination rather than judgement. The amount eyes don't seem to translate that very well.
"Is that chicken teriyaki?" Riseki noticed, trying to ignore all the stares.
"Yup! Want some?" Himekawa lifted his fork, to which Riseki took a bite. The team couldn't believe they were witnessing this in real time.
"How come I don't get a share?" The ravenous Atema spoke.
"Dude, this is getting embarrassing..." Iwamuro side-eyed the eater.
"Because it's not yours, it's his." Himekawa's heart-seizing words painted Riseki's cheeks in pink.
"You didn't have to say it like that, Aoi..."
"Seriously, did nobody know Himekawa was dating someone?" Gossip-tongued Maiko said. Of course, another elephant had to be addressed.
"I don't think anyone even knew he likes guys." Kaikake does have a point.
"No straight person uses Homeric style epithets to describe people in their story," the stage-knowing Teradomari shifted his eyes to the distance. What is he looking at?
"What are you talking about?" Echigo's gentle-spirited eyes tried to follow where the tall wheat was looking.
"Just so you know," Cloud-bearing Maruyama spoke, "we have no problem with this, Hime. If that's what you're worried about."
"Exactly. I mean..." Echigo pointed his thumb at the other two third-years. "Look, we don't mind Tera and Maru dating despite me wanting to stuff them in a sack full of rats and dump them into a lake."
Teradomari flinched while Maruyama simply furrowed his eyebrows, everyone else giving Echigo a blank yet concerned look. How could the captain of untroubled stillness say that like it's the most normal thing ever? The grin on his face wasn't making it any better.
"...Yeah, what he said," gloom-clouded Maruyama frowned. "So don't worry, okay?"
"Okay..." Himekawa and Riseki glanced at each other.
"Though, a heads up would've been nice," Iwamuro muttered.
"Oops...?"
At this point, practice seemed to have been forgotten after lunch. Instead of food, they were now hungry for information about Himekawa's boyfriend. Aoi and Heisuke should've seen this coming.
"So Riseki, where are you from?" Restless-mind Kaikake asked. Now here comes the interview...
"Oh, Amagasaki," Riseki answered.
"Hyogo? That's a bit far from here," air-blooming Maruyama thought out loud. "That explains the accent. How did you two even meet?"
"Around middle school, right?" Riseki received a nod from Himekawa. "My cousin from here invited my family for a birthday party. He also invited his classmates at the time. Hime was one of them."
"I'm still pretty sure he only invited me 'cause he felt bad..." Himekawa added. "Heisuke was the only one who actually talked to me. After that we kept in touch since then and now we're here."
"Aww, that's so sweet," Atema said before realizing. "Wait, that sounded so fake. I'm sorry."
"It's... fine?" Himekawa let out an awkward laugh.
"How long have you two been together?" Echigo asked.
"We've just made it official three months ago," Himekawa recalled.
"And you didn't break the news?" Maiko raised an eyebrow.
"I said I was going to...!" Himekawa's trouble-stirred hands shook back and forth. "Hei-chan probably hasn't told his teammates either!"
"Aoi?!" Riseki blinked. "But it's true, I've only told our captain so far..."
"By the gods, you two really are meant to be." Teradomari huffed before getting elbowed by Maruyama.
"Do you play volleyball?" white-clouded Maruyama asked.
"Yeah! I'm a wing spiker," warm-eyed Riseki said.
"He plays for Inarizaki," Himekawa added, earning a few surprised looks.
"Great goddess, that's a powerhouse..." heavy-clouded Maruyama deflated.
"That's the team with the Miya twins, right?" Riseki nodded at Iwamuro's question.
"So what brings you here?" The ever-inquisitive Kaikake asked. "Just wanted to surprise Hime?"
"Well..." Riseki scratched his head. "I'm actually supposed to visit family this weekend. I only got the idea to come here when Hime texted about having practice."
"You said no promises but I was really hoping to see you!"
Atema gasped. "No wonder you were in such a good mood!"
"He was?" Riseki looked at his rosy-cheeked lover.
"Little dude was literally smiling and hopping," Maiko teased. "You would've thought he won the lottery!"
Himekawa went from rosy-cheeked to rosy-faced. "Stop! I'm just really happy!"
Riseki laughed, caressing Himekawa's cheek. "It's okay, Aoi. You really missed me that much?"
"I guess..."
"I don't mean to ruin the moment, but can we go back to volleyball?" Heavy-sighing Iwamuro has had enough.
"Dude, shut up." Kaikake poked him. "I know you're hopeless in romance but damn."
"We're literally here to practice??"
"I hate to agree, we still have a whole afternoon ahead of us," Echigo said as he stood up, earning a collective groan from the others.
"BOOOOO! Everybody boo the captain!" Wild-born Kaikake stood up, followed by the rest of the team as they did exactly that.
Riseki stared while Himekawa simply giggled. "Is this normal?"
"Yup."
"Real mature, guys." The unruffled Echigo crossed his arms. "I hope you know this is Riseki's first impresion of y'all."
"It's fine, my team is kinda like this too," Riseki said before standing up. "Um... Is it okay if i join you guys?"
Heart-leaping Himekawa bounced to his feet. "Yes! Yes, yes, please! I wanna play volleyball with you!"
"Well, I don't see why not?" Echigo agreed.
"But what about your family?" Dream-clouded Maruyama mentioned. "You did say you were visiting them."
"Eh, I don't like papa's side very much," Riseki wrapped his arm around Himekawa's shoulder. "I'd rather be here with Aoi."
Tsubakihara can't handle any more of their hearts being stabbed and squeezed. This was too precious. At this point, even the author's mother knows these boys would commit atrocities for the two lovers.
Gay people in our gym... Iwamuro actually bothered to keep that thought to himself.
"However," the towering Teradomari spoke, "if you tell your team about our tactics, I will kick your ass if we ever face each other on court. Understand?"
"Un—understood!"