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“Attention, attention, everyone, time is of the essence,” Tendou threw his arms in the air and nearly hit a pipe on the locker room ceiling. “I've called you here today because I have discovered that one of our precious first years is in mortal emotional danger.”
It was a cold day in November, and the Shiratorizawa third years (plus Shirabu) were standing in the school’s locker room, having been gathered there by Tendou after practice. They were eager to help, for the most part, but Tendou’s antics were already getting on their nerves.
Yamagata groaned. “Let me guess: it’s Tsutomu.”
Wakatoshi nodded gravely. “This conclusion that you have reached is correct. Satori has informed me that the kouhai in question is my successor, and he is apparently in need of relationship advice.”
Shirabu, who was on a chair in the corner with his legs crossed and his hands behind his head, opened one eye. “So why are you here, Ushijima senpai?” he asked innocently.
“Tendou, what kind of relationship advice did Goshiki ask for, exactly?” Reon said, attempting to stay on task.
Shirabu chuckled. “Not the fun kind, that’s for sure.”
Three of the third years hit him in the shoulder for that comment. (“vulgar, Kenjirou-kun!”) He swatted their hands away and scowled, promptly closing his eyes again as Semi began to pet his hair, mostly to make him shut up.
Tendou had, during the six seconds that he wasn’t talking, jumped onto Ushijima’s back and wrapped his legs around his stoic boyfriend’s waist. “Ask?” he replied. “Oh, no no no, Goshiki didn’t ask for advice.” he squinted his eyes into a glare. “But we’re gonna give it to him.”
Reon sighed. “I still don’t see what the problem is. I’m sure Tsutomu can handle having a significant other, he’s 16.”
“No, no,” Semi interrupted. “that’s just it. The kid has no idea he’s dating someone.”
The group stared at him in disbelief.
Semi shrugged. “Don’t ask me, Tendou’s the one who told me about it.”
They turned to Tendou, who grabbed the opportunity to speak like a bull by the horns. “It all happened two days ago…”
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“What’cha got there, Tsutomuuu?” the redheaded blocker leaned over Goshiki’s shoulder, who was sitting on his left and appeared to be utterly engrossed in his phone.
The smaller boy looked over at him, eyes sparkling. “Oh, hello, Tendou senpai! I’m just texting my friend,” he grinned.
Tendou was intrigued. “A friendddd, you say! Very nice, Goshi! Good to know you’re making friends other than me and Ushiwaka. Let me see who it is!” Tendou grabbed his kouhai’s phone without asking, but Tsutomu didn’t protest.
The screen was open to Goshiki’s texts with someone, but Tendou couldn’t tell who because the contact name was simply “Ko.” Oh well, this boy seemed nice enough, based on the conversation displayed:
Ko: tsutomu!!
Ko: wanna come over on friday night?
Ko: i’ll rent that movie you wanted to watch last time ;)
Me: sure!!! sounds fun :)
Ko: great, how about 7:00?
Me: i can come earlier and we can play volleyball! ^u^
Tendou smiled. Ah, to be young and in love.
“Goshi!! You never told me you had a boyfriend!” Goshiki’s face immediately flushed a bright red color. “Ahh, so cute, Tsutomu! Here, look at the camera!” Tendou didn’t give him a moment to prepare before snapping a photo and promptly sending it to Goshiki’s apparent boyfriend.
The young wing spiker gained some composure. “Oh, uh, thanks, Tendou-san! But… I’m not dating this boy! He’s just my friend!” Goshiki was still blushing.
Tendou’s face flashed, a confused expression showing itself before he reverted back to his usual cheerfulness. “Oh, ok, Tsutomu! I’m glad you have a friend, then.”
But Satori couldn’t imagine that he was mistaken. That invitation had been for a date, right? He looked back at the phone that was still in his hand.
Me: Attachment: 1 Image
Ko: aww ♥
Ko: you’re so pretty tsutomuu
No, Tendou thought. He was definitely not mistaken.
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“... and that’s when I realized he had no idea.” Tendou shook his head sadly.
Yamagata crouched on the floor and put his face in his palms. He began to laugh. Reon was more sympathetic. “I don’t know who I feel worse for, Tsutomu or the other kid,” he said.
Ushijima nodded solemnly. “Speaking of this ‘other kid’...”
“Yeah! How did this even happen?! Who decided they wanted to date GOSHIKI?” Shirabu threw his hands up in exasperation.
Semi smirked, his brown eyes suddenly shining with amusement. “Oh, I think I know the answer to that one.”
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“Nice kill, Tsutomu!” Semi complimented his kouhai for a rather excellent cross-shot that left his blockers wondering what had happened. “You must have been practicing that one.”
One word of praise and Goshiki looked fit to burst. “Thank you, Semi san!~” he chimed enthusiastically. “I’ve been getting a lot of extra practice lately with a very good blocker, it must be helping!”
Semi quirked an eyebrow, vaguely interested. “Who’s this other guy? I thought Tendou was busy studying for his exams for a few weeks.”
Goshiki nodded eagerly. “Yeah, this is someone else. Do you remember when we played Date Tech?” Semi nodded. “He plays for them! He’s a first year setter.”
Oh, that rang a bell in Eita’s head. He was really tall for a first year, wasn’t he? Semi racked his brain for a name. Something with a K… Kanemaru? Kousuke? Oh, wait, it was-
“Koganegawa?” he snapped his fingers. The bowl cut in front of him nodded his head.
“Yep, Kogane! He’s really fun. I got to know him at the first year’s training camp!”
Semi didn’t think much of it at the time. “That’s nice, Goshiki. Keep up the good work.”
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“Koganegawa Kanji? Are you sure that’s who it is, Eita? We don’t want to get this wrong.” Reon stated. He always tried to be cautious when meddling in people's personal lives (it happened here more often than you'd think).
“Oh, come on, of course it is. A tall, attractive setter who’s name starts with “Ko” that Goshiki befriended at a volleyball camp? Duh, that’s the guy,” Shirabu rolled his eyes.
“Attractive?” Semi muttered at him.
Shirabu recoiled. “I meant objectively, dumbass.”
“Wait, wait, hold up.” Yamagata held up a hand. “I still don’t get one thing. How is Goshiki convinced that they’re not dating? Shouldn’t the other guy have made it obvious by now?”
Ushijima took a step forward. “I believe I might have some information as to what has contributed to Tsutomu’s recent confusion.”
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Wakatoshi was strolling back to the dorms from school one afternoon. There was no practice on Thursdays, so he was heading to Satori’s dorm for a “movie night” with his boyfriend. He had told Wakatoshi that his roommate was visiting home, and for some reason, whenever Satori said that, they always ended up having s—
“Thanks, Goshiki! That was so much fun!” an incredibly enthusiastic voice interrupted Ushijima’s thoughts. “Your school is soooo big!”
The ace glanced to his left and saw a familiar bowl cut sprawled in the grass. Next to him was Karasuno’s orange haired first year, the one that had that insane quick attack. He was holding an ice pop in his hands, and Goshiki’s mouth was stained a similar blue color. Ushijima heard them speaking and decided to listen for a moment.
“Hey, Hinata, can I ask you something?”
“Of course! What’s up?” The orange haired boy nodded eagerly.
“Remember Koganegawa from the training camp?”
“Yeah, that super tall setter! He was a lot of fun!”
“Yeah, well, he’s kind of been talking to me and asking me to hang out a lot, but I’m not sure what it means.” Goshiki propped himself up onto one elbow. “He’s kissed me a few times, too. I just wanted to ask you because I’ve seen you and Kageyama…”
Hinata nodded again, but more slowly this time. “Yeah, Kageyama does kiss me sometimes… he also holds my hands on the bus and stuff, and he asks me to come over a lot.”
Goshiki lit up. “Yeah, exactly! I asked you because you probably knew.” he flopped back down in the grass. “So… does Kogane want to date me, then?”
Hinata pondered the question for a moment. “Welllll, I don’t *think* so.” he replied, looking up at the sky. “Kissing can just mean you’re really good friends sometimes, right? Kageyama’s just my friend, I think.”
“Yeah… you’re right, I suppose it can.” Just then, Goshiki tilted his head back and saw Ushijima standing on the path behind them. “Ah! Hello, Ushijima-san!!” he greeted.
The ace held up a hand in return. “Greetings, Tsutomu and Tsutomu’s companion.”
Goshiki seemed to have an idea all of a sudden. “Oi, Hinata, we should ask Ushijima! I’ve seen him kiss Tendou plenty of times, and they could never be dating!” he waved at the ace. “Ushijima-san, why do you kiss Tenou senpai all the time?”
“Satori and I are partners,” Wakatoshi responded, looking at them with minor confusion. He then glanced down at his watch. It was getting late, Tendou would be worried. “I must go now. Satori and I are having a movie night. Good evening, Tsutomu.” Ushijima heard their voices ringing out as he began to walk away.
Hinata smacked his forehead. “Of course!!! They’re partnersss,” he exclaimed. “Just like me and Kageyama! Volleyball partners, a really strong duo!”
Goshiki gasped. “Ooooh, Shouyou, that makes so much sense!” he paused. “Wait, so Kogane and I are volleyball partners now?!”
Karasuno’s middle blocker gave a nod of confirmation. “That’s the only possible explanation!”
“That’s so cool, now we can be as good as you and Kageyama!!”
“Ushijima-san also explained why he keeps inviting you over for movie nights. It’s a ‘team bonding experience’ like Suga always says!” Hinata sounded very confident in this explanation.
Wakatoshi broke into a jog when his phone dinged, showing him a series of rather tempting pictures from his boyfriend. His kouhai’s voice faded into the background.
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“...and THIS is why we don't trust Karasuno,” concluded Yamagata after Ushijima had finished. Reon just rubbed his forehead.
“So what are we supposed to do?”
“Who says we gotta do anything?” grumbled Shirabu. “Let’s get on with our lives and let the kid make a joke out of his.”
Tendou tsked and patted the second year on the head. “Now, now, Kenjirou, you don’t mean that,”
“Uh, yes, I d-”
“NOW, NOW, you know it is our job as his senpais to make sure that little Goshiki’s first relationship goes well,” Tendou’s words were each punctuated by an exaggerated hand movement. “and that it never, ever, EVER breaks his fragile heart.”
“Senpai, doesn’t that seem unrealis-”
“HUSH, Kenjirou, I wouldn’t have invited you to this *big boy* meeting if I knew you were going to behave like this.”
Shirabu grumbled, but didn’t say anything more. A long moment of silence followed as the group pondered what to do. A few times, Semi opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself and shook his head. A few times, Tendou opened his mouth to say something, but it was just the word “corndog.”
“You know, we could just tell him what’s happening like normal people,” Reon practically pleaded with his friends.
“No, why would we do that?”
“Stupid Reon…”
“That’s worse than the corndog idea.”
“Apparently, the rest of the group finds this to be an unsatisfactory course of action, so I, too, will have to disagree.”
There was another beat of silence.
Yamagata suggested something next. “We could leave him chocolates on Valentine’s Day and say they’re from Koganegawa. Then he would realize the kid likes him.”
“Would he? Or would he think they’re obligatory?” Shirabu commented dryly.
Tendou shook his head. “That’s true, it might not work. Plus, it’s only November.”
They all took a collective sigh and thought to themselves. The only sound in the room was that of Shirabu bumping his head backwards into the metal locker, over and over.
“Well, at this rate, we could wait for Koganegawa to propose and just attend the wedding in peace,” Semi said sarcastically. He was met with a chorus of “shut up” from the group.
Finally, Shirabu, Shirabu of all people, smirked and said, “Oh, you’re gonna love this idea.”
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Koganegawa stood in front of the Shiratorizawa gymnasium, checking his watch every minute or so. He was nervously awaiting the end of their volleyball practice so he could surprise his boyfriend. The setter wondered absentmindedly why the Shiratorizawa third years had asked him to do this — if Goshiki wanted it so badly, he would’ve just asked!
He fiddled with the collar of his tuxedo. The sleeves hung a little low on his wrists, having borrowed the attire from Futakuchi, who was six centimeters short of his height. Kenji tugged at them in an attempt to cover his hands. Jeez, it was cold. Why did he have to wear this thing? It was almost December!
“–and Monday’s practice will be in the morning because Coach has a meeting in the afternoon! Everyone be sure to rest up — don’t forget we have that practice game tomorrow!” An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out of the gym, and the door handle clicked as it was opened.
Koganegawa scrambled into place, grabbing the bouquet of lavender roses, cornflowers, and baby’s breath that Aone had put together for him. He cleared his throat, adjusted his tie, and prepared for Goshiki to emerge.
Instead, some random third year came out first.
It was the redhead middle blocker, and his eyes lit up at the sight before him. “My, MY, what a fine young man we have here,” he giggled, amusement lighting up his face. “SAYY, Ushiwaka, is this Tsutomu’s dear friend from training camp?”
He nudged the tall, stoic ace that stood beside him.“Indeed, Satori, it is Koganegawa and you already informed me that he would be h-” the redhead clamped a hand over his mouth and led him back inside the gym, muttering something about forgetting a water bottle.
Quickly, they were replaced by the setter with the silver hair. “Oh, yes, there does appear to be someone outside here. For TSUTOMU SPECIFICALLY,” he said unnecessarily loudly.
“And he’s dressed soooo,” The second year – Shirabu – glanced at the ratty sneakers on Koganegawa’s feet, unimpressed. “...nicely.” He cleared his throat. “Perhaps you should come see, Bowl-Cut!”
Goshiki was drawn over and shoved outside, but he had not a hint of suspicion on his face. When he saw Koganegawa, adorned in a tuxedo and holding a large mix of flowers, the first year gasped.
Kenji wondered why he was so surprised. Good boyfriends do nice stuff like this all the time.
Behind Goshiki, Koganegawa saw a large gathering of third years vigorously mouthing the words, “ask him!” He decided to get on with it.
“So, Tsutomu…” he began. The purple haired boy looked up at him, for some reason shocked that Kogane was actually here because of him.
“I know that your school has the Shiratorizawa Winter Dance coming up, and I was wondering,” He thrust the flowers at Goshiki. “if you would let me have the honor of being your date to it!”
Goshiki began to blush furiously as he attempted to stutter out a response. The older players behind him were watching intently.
“Kogane! Uh, I – um, yeah, I-I would really…” he took a deep breath. “Yes! I would love for you to take me to the dance!” his eyes shone with excitement (and perhaps a few tears).
His senpais behind him erupted into cheers, before quickly scurrying away when Goshiki turned around. He looked back at Kogane in front of him. “This is really, REALLY nice, Kenji, but I honestly had no idea you felt like this! I’m just so surprised!”
Back in the gym, the third years (and Shirabu) froze. Goshiki better not spoil it, not now…
Luckily, Kogane was not the brightest bulb in the box. “What do you mean? Of course I would want to go to the dance with you! I love you, my cute little boyfriend!”
Tsutomu was in too much shock from that statement to protest any longer, and he allowed himself to be pulled into a soft kiss.
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From within the gymnasium, six pairs of eyes peered eagerly around the corner of the door at the young outside hitter and his new (technically not new, though) boyfriend. They lined the doorway, with Reon crouching at the bottom, Yamagata leaning above him, and Semi and Shirabu next to each other standing just below Ushijima, who had Tendou clawing up his back for a better view.
“Well, boys, I’d say that’s a mission accomplished.” Yamagata slapped Reon on the back, causing him to choke on his energy drink and start coughing.
Semi sighed. He was proud of the little first year. Goshiki looked very happy.
Shirabu grunted to agree with Yamagata. “I guess the bowl cut brat might be a little easier to tolerate now,” he conceded.
“Indeed, Tsutomu appears to be enjoying himself. Perhaps he will spend less time following me into my dorm room now.” Wakatoshi added helpfully.
Tendou, who was very pleased with how “his plan” worked out, nodded. “Yeah, they’re almost as cute of a couple as Semi Semi and Kenjirou-kun are.”
“SHIRABU AND I ARE A COUPLE?!” Semi yelled. At the same moment, Shirabu screeched, “I’M DATING SEMI?!!”
Tendou just sighed. Yamagata dropped his bag and walked away.