Chapter Text
The MSBY Black Jackals go into every game they play with the mindset they have to work together as a team to give their best performance each time. This one in particular felt doubly significant as there was a lot on the line, professionally and personally.
The amount of buzz surrounding it and how many eyes were on both teams, placing bets as to who would come out of it victorious, was only heightening the pressure to be the best.
They fought hard, played hard, and never backed down, and never stopped giving it their all no matter what, and in the end, after three grueling, intense sets, the MSBY Black Jackals beat the Schweiden Adlers.
They felt like they were on top of the world.
Back in the locker room, Hinata was especially on cloud 9, dividing his time half focused on undressing himself and getting into his actual clothing and the other half jumping around like a kid on Christmas repeatedly shouting:
"WE WON!!", "I BEAT KAGEYAMA!!!", and "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!"
Atsumu was taking a few deep breaths at his locker while changing out of his uniform, briefly allowing himself a moment to reflect and wind down after all the craziness. He was overall feeling pretty satisfied. He scored 8 points from serving and made a couple nice kills, he and Shoyo got to show that bastard setter on the opposing team, Tobio, who the real best setter spiker duo was. And most importantly, they won. His petty spirit was flourishing on behalf of Shoyo, he played a helluva game as well and got to rub the win in his long time rivals face, and Atsumu was right there next to him on the court as the setter who assisted in the little Wing Spiker proving himself.
He echoed one of Hinata's sentiments in his head, smiling slyly to himself.
Yeah, this was so awesome.
Once he was done taking a breather and getting dressed, he was going to fill his water bottle at the water filter station right by where Hinata's locker was located. The orange-haired boy finally appeared to be simmered down, or rather, it seemed like a safe bet since he was standing still and finishing putting his regular clothing on, but when he noticed Atsumu heading his way, his flip switched right back on.
"WE NEED GO OUT AND CELEBRATE TONIGHT!! THIS WIN CALLS FOR SOMETHING EXTRAVAGANT LIKE MAYBE SETTING OFF FIREWORKS OR GO SKYDIVING, OH SKYDIVING WOULD BE SO FUN!! I FEEL LIKE I COULD JUMP OUT OF A PLANE RIGHT NOW!!!"
Atsumu snickered and was about to tell him how neither of those ideas were going to happen, when Bokuto (who apparently already showered and got fully-clothed in a nice pair of dark wash denim jeans and a fitted grey pullover) zoomed right on past him to jump next to Hinata.
"OH OH OH I'VE ALWAYS WANTED GO SKYDIVING I BET I WOULD BE THE BEST SKYDIVER EVER, MY PARACHUTE GO WHOOSH AND THEN I'D BE SO FAST IN THE AIR….
Bokuto's big smile while he was picturing himself being an elite skydiver abruptly faded when the realization dawned on him, “… I don't think Akaashi would approve though. I wonder if I could convince hi-"
Atsumu decided now was the best time to intervene and stop them before they could got too ahead of themselves. The last thing this team needed was either of them, never mind the both of them, becoming high adrenaline, extreme sport junkies. Lord only knows the two of their already existing energies combined could be used to source power for every building in the whole country of Japan probably.
"Imma cut ya both off right there, as brilliant as all those ideas you threw out sound, Shoyo, and as exhilaratin' as skydivin' would be, I think coach would kill us, and yes Bokkun, Akaashi would definitely kill ya, if we spontaneously decided to jump out of a plane tonight." His lips formed a conniving grin as he was thinking about whether or not he should say what just came into his mind out loud and ultimately decided, yes. Yes, he should.
"Plus, I don't know if we could get Omi-Omi on board with skydivin', he'd probably be too much of a chicken." He raised his voice for it to be heard throughout the whole locker room, naturally trying to get a rise out of Sakusa.
Sakusa received the message loud and clear and was not about to tolerate this slander. He finished zipping up his team jacket and walked over to the scene of the crime.
"Miya, first you assumed I had a fear of spiders, then clowns, then randomly cheese? And now this? Why do you always insist that I am afraid of literally everything?" He mumbled under his breath as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Mission success.
Atsumu held his hands up "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Cheese wasn't random! It was an extremely valid concern! I read somewhere that cheese had a lot of bacteria in it and you're scared of bacteria so I was just makin' sure!"
Truth be told, ever since they met back in high school, Atsumu has always found Sakusa compelling. So the real reason he always threw out these silly accusations was because he was always just looking for an excuse to strike up a conversation with Sakusa and learn more about him, down to the most minuscule information. He wanted to have a mental inventory of everything Omi-related, his own personal Omi-Ictionary.
Sakusa sighed and rolled his eyes for a second time, "Miya, most foods have bacteria in them. That's not the type of bacteria that I- hold on. You do realize there's multiple different of bacteria and it's not all the same, right?"
"Awww ya look so cute when you roll yer eyes at me" Atsumu winked.
Sure, he could've confessed that he was just learning for the first time that not all bacteria is the same, but decided going the flirty route to avoid a possible lecture was way more enticing.
Although… Omi does look really hot when he gets all nerdy….
Sakusa's heart skipped a beat at being called cute but he did everything in his power to keep a poker face. Nearly rolling his eyes again out of habit, but thank goodness he caught himself. He opted for smacking the charming brat's arm, which should suffice as enough revenge (for now).
Where it was clear Sakusa still had reservations with being physical with his other teammates, as the two volleyball players kept getting closer, he was becoming increasingly comfortable being touchy with Atsumu. Even though he was very flattered and appreciative of it, he didn't fully understand why or how he was the chosen one that Sakusa was warming up to the most, he welcomed it with open arms nonetheless.
He grew up in a handsy family. Between rough housing with Osamu and the way his parents encouraged the boys by messing up their hair or squeezing their hands tightly before sending them off them somewhere, it was like second nature for him to express his emotions through physical touch.
However, when Sakusa joined the team he was cognizant his new teammate was the polar opposite and preferred to keep any and all physical interactions at a minimal. When they were in high school, the two attended the same training camp. Since he had neved been exposed to someone with Mysophobia and was young and ignorant to Sakusa's struggles, he regrettably said some pretty nasty things about him and coined him a weirdo off the bat based off dumb preconceived notions. He was planning on distancing himself from said weirdo but it was pretty hard to do considering they were forced to play on the same court.
The first time he observed Sakusa play, Atsumu's whole perception of him changed. From the way he moved and how flexible he was, to how strong he looked, he ate his harsh words so fast.
From that moment forward, he was yearning to make amends with and befriend him. His sheer power and knack for the sport was admirable and the more he sat with it, Sakusa was growing more and more attractive to him too. It never happened though. He was too much of a jerk back then to admit he was wrong and apologize to the guy. Instead, he chose to spend the rest of the camp avoiding conversing with him in any capacity. It was probably for the best anyway. He witnessed Sakusa yelling at multiple people to "stay away!" So if anything, he was doing him a favor, at least that's what he would tell himself to make him feel less like a piece of shit.
Years later, Atsumu felt like he had been granted a second chance by the universe when they ended up on the same team together and he swore to himself he was going to do right by Sakusa. He constantly did his best to be receptive to his triggers him and respect his boundaries, until one day after practice where he accidentally slipped up. He noticed Sakusa looking extremely anxious and stressed out. To find out what was bothering him, he subconsciously placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, like he would have done for anyone in that state. Within seconds he felt guilty after putting his hand on him, failing to consider Sakusa might not feel comforted by that, even worse, the opposite effect, and he quickly removed it. He was mentally beating himself up thinking about how this action could have just distressed him even more and he did not want to be a reason for the teammate he was growing to care so much about to feel any negative emotion.
Without either of them exchanging a word, Sakusa took Atsumu's hand and moved it back to his shoulder. Atsumu internally freaked out but he approached the situation like Sakusa was a non-cuddly cat who was choosing to cuddle him, he was not moving an inch by any means, until prompted. He also deemed it best to keep his mouth shut and would let Sakusa speak if he desired, he didn't want to apply any pressure on him.
He doesn't remember how much time passed with them positioned like that, but Sakusa once again, took his hand, and placed it back to Atsumu's side and just softly whispered "thank you" and walked away. Those were the only words spoken the whole interaction but they meant so much to him and Atsumu swears his heart grew at least 3x bigger.
He figured that would be a one-and-done, glitch in the matrix type of deal but then Sakusa started reaching out for him more and more as the days went on. Granted, sometimes it was to hit him, correction, most of the time*, it was to hit him, but he didn't mind.
"OW! Ya didn't have to smack me for callin' ya cute, it was a compliment ya jerk!" Atsumu shrieked while rubbing his arm.
Sakusa shrugged and bluntly replied "Shouldn't have been such an idiot."
"Wow bein’ an idiot calls for bein’ assaulted now?" Atsumu snapped back with amusement in his tone.
Sakusa stared into Atsumu's light brown eyes with a seductive look in his onyx eyes before saying "It's not my fault you're an idiot with a smack-able arm." He smacked him one more time just for the hell of it, but decided to be more light-handed with it.
This man was going to be the death of Atsumu.
All four boys were still crowded next to Hinata's locker and out of the blue, Bokuto went from laughing about something with Hinata to then suddenly freezing.
Atsumu, Sakusa, and Hinata all looked at each other with a knowing gleam in their eyes.
Bokuto's mood swings may have improved since high school, but his brain still sometimes worked faster than his mouth could talk. Whenever this happens, which is more often than one would think, they joke that he needs to be rebooted again.
"Ope looks like Bokkun here had another system malfunction, I've got his reboot card." Atsumu was going to go up to him and smack his forehead to "power him on" again but it was no longer necessary. Bokuto defensively held his hands up to his face to protect it and squealed "Wait no! I'm good! I forgot but then I remembered what I wanted to say!" He turned to Sakusa who already looked tired over whatever he was about to say "Was Tsum-Tsum wrong about you being afraid of skydiving? Or would you do it?"
Sakusa's face instantly reddened at the question.
Goddamnit his face gave himself away didn't it? Why did they have to bring the topic up again?
Trying to sound as unbothered as possible he responded, "Tch, w-why are we even acting like skydiving is actually an option anyway?"
In a mere matter of seconds Sakusa has been betrayed by not only the coloring of his face, but now his own stutter.
Hinata being the instigator he is, probably taught from the CEO of Little Shits™️ , Atsumu Miya, urged him "Oh c'mon Omi, don't deflect. Answer the question!"
Although he felt like it was utterly obvious how he felt about it, there was not a single chance that he was going to confirm it out loud and give any of the interrogative boys, especially Atsumu, the satisfaction of being right, that indeed, he would absolutely never go skydiving, ever.
"I'm going home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He pretended start heading for the locker room exit and before he could get too far all of the boys yelled out after him.
"WAIT STOP"
"NO DON'T LEAVE, YOU HAVE TO COME OUT AND CELEBRATE WITH US"
"WE WERE ONLY MESSIN' 'ROUND, YA DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YA DON'T WANNA, WE'LL DROP IT! RIGHT, GUYS?"
"RIGHT!" Bokuto and Hinata shouted in unison.
Ah. Fool proof.
Sakusa turned around to face the boys again, "Okay, okay, but we seriously need to lock in and figure out what the move is for tonight." He sighed and continued on "And please, let's keep it realistic."
Bokuto and Hinata nodded and Atsumu took initiative to settle the plans.
"How 'bout we stick to what we know and we meet up for some drinks and karaoke in about an hour at our usual spot, eh?"
There were a few reasons Atsumu was confident with this idea. For starters, it was always a good time. They were on a first name basis with the bartenders and staff and notoriously adored there, the drinks were great, but above all, he noted that whenever the team tried to branch out and try new bars or clubs, Sakusa would be visibly tense and more hyper-vigilant of his surroundings. It would break his heart to see, so the reason they became regulars at this place is because Atsumu noted after a few visits that this is one is a safe space for Sakusa where he could hang out with them more in his element.
He mentally pat himself on the back at the immediate reassurance that he made the right call when the first thing he did was look over to Omi-Omi and observed the way he was already more at ease.
"Sounds good. I'll be there." Sakusa replied.
"YEAHHHHH DRINKS AND KARAOKE! I'M IN!" Hinata beamed.
"I'm so down! But hey do you guys mind if Akaashi joins us? It's totally fine if not, but I was hoping to spend a little bit more time with him while he's here in Osaka!" Bokuto asked.
Atsumu slapped Bokuto's back and laughed out "Are ya serious, Bokkun? We wouldn't hesitate to swap ya with yer boyfriend if he decided one day to drop the whole editor thing and play pro volleyball instead. “‘Course he's welcome!"
Bokuto double checked with the other guys just in case there was no doubt they were all on the same page and shared the same opinion as Atsumu.
"Awesome!" Bokuto took out his phone to fill Akaashi in on the new plans. As soon as he finished sending his text he started heading to grab his belongings. "Now that that's all sorted out, I'm gonna head out now! I look forward to see you guys again soon!" He bid them adieu.
Sakusa followed suit. Sounding inconvenienced despite it being entirely his fault he left them with, "I'm gonna start heading out now too. I'm gonna need the head start with how far away I'm parked."
Atsumu and Hinata hung back for a minute or so to bask in the victory one last time and laugh about the look on Kageyama's face when he realized that they were a legit threat.
Sakusa put his headphones on and shuffled his liked songs playlist as he made the trek to his car. He wondered to himself when, or rather, if, he would ever learn his lesson and stop parking so far away from the stadium. He hated himself for doing it every single time, but there he was again, being one of the last players in the parking lot, watching his teammates who were apparently wiser than him in that regard and parked closer to the doors, driving off.
In attempts to make him feel better at his recurring mistake, he acknowledged it could be worse. At least it wasn't pitch black outside as the stadium lights lit up the lot and it wasn't snowing or pouring rain. The November air was the perfect temperature for him. It wasn't too unbearably freezing yet but it was just chilly enough to be able to bundle up and he preferred to be cold over too hot any day. After the long match today, the extra fresh air was actually pretty nice. This was fresh air and exercise his teammates would be lacking, so he must be the real winner in this scenrio.
Was he a pro at gaslighting himself or was he really not upset anymore about hauling ass anymore?
Out of spite, he decided he'd time making it to where he was parked so he could continue accomplishing the most air and exercise consumption to fuel his newfound mental competition. He took his headphones off before he removed his keys from his jacket to unlock it when his car was close enough in sight, but to his surprise he heard footsteps approaching from behind him.
Weird. How long had this person been following him and what were they doing? No other car besides his was parked this far back? Was his music really that loud he was that oblivious of his surroundings?
He used the body of the car and the side-view mirror to the best of his ability to gauge the reflection of who would go so far out of their way to follow him.
"Miya?" Sakusa asked hoping that the man didn't have a secret evil triplet that was about to attack him in this parking lot.
"Omi-Omi!" He could hear Atsumu's pace pick up.
Thank god.
"What are you doing? Your car is nowhere near here?" He sounded more concerned than he meant to let on.
It didn't take long at all for Miya to catch up to him and the two stood face to face by Sakusa's car.
Slightly sounding out of breath, Miya answered "I know, I know, I parked all the way in the garage because I thought it was supposed to snow but whatever that doesn't matter, I, uh, I wanted to ask if ya wanted to drive together to karaoke, usually you're the group's designated driver so ya never get to let loose and drink as much as the rest of us. He paused in contemplation and then shrugged "I dunno I guess basically all I'm tryin' to say is I wouldn't mind bein’ the DD tonight so lemme know if ya wanna switch roles and I'll come pick ya up, yer place is en route anyways so it's no inconvenience and—"
It was abundantly obvious that Atsumu was going to keep rambling on and on and even more obvious at how completely caught off guard he was when Sakusa placed a hand on his shoulder "Miya, take a breath for fucks sake" He chuckled and his eyes softened as he looked him his eyes "But to answer your question, I'd like that. I'll text you when I'm ready."
Atsumu fist bumped the air and exclaimed, "Sweet! See ya later, alligator!"
Instant regret washing over his entire face looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
Sakusa chosing to ignore the laughable circumstance for now, removed his hand from the other man's shoulder and turned to get into his vehicle, leaving a stunned Atsumu Miya on the other side of the door.
As he was sitting in his drivers seat waiting for his car to warm up, he watched the man sprinting to the parking garage through his window. Knowing Atsumu was too far away to see him now and he was officially alone, he took off his face mask and couldn't help but grin like an idiot.