Chapter Text
With every passing day, you drew closer to the Interhigh preliminaries. And with every passing day, your nerves grew. Despite the confidence you had in yourself and your team, you knew that nothing was certain. There were a lot of teams out there that were extremely talented, just like yours was. Teams who were just as determined as you and your peers. As the main setter for your team, you felt like this whole thing was on your shoulders.
What if you made a mistake and it cost your team the chance at Nationals? How would you ever recover from that? Just the thought of it was enough to make you shudder.
You did your best to hide the insecurities you were dealing with. You hated the thought of looking weak, or burdening someone with your silly overthinking. As long as you kept it to yourself, it wouldn’t be real. You wouldn’t have to face it.
Of course, that did not work at all. Kenma was quick to pick up on it, which you weren’t surprised about. Your twin brother knew you better than anyone else on this planet.
“Why are you so nervous?” He asked one morning at breakfast, looking up at you through a curtain of hair. You met his eyes, nervously swallowing the bite of food you’d been eating.
“What do you mean?” You asked, unconvincingly. Idiot.
“I can literally feel it, Y/n. I have for days. You’re scared. Why?”
Lying would be counterproductive, you knew that. Kenma would see right through it and he’d be hurt that you lied to him. That wasn’t something you did to each other. There was no reason to. You both knew whether the other was telling the truth or not.
You sighed, setting your breakfast down and pushing the food away. You ran a hand through your hair and met your brother’s gaze, “I just… my team has never been able to make it to Nationals. There has always been someone who was better than us and we couldn’t overcome it. What if that happens again? What if my team has to endure another loss because of me?”
Kenma just stared at you for a solid five seconds, unblinking. Then he sighed and shook his head, “That’s stupid. You’re talented, y/n. Really talented. The only way you could mess up that bad is if you convinced yourself it would happen. Besides, any loss wouldn’t be your fault. It’s a team sport, idiot.”
He was right. Of course he was- insulting nicknames aside. Sure, it wasn’t guaranteed that you would win. But it also wasn’t guaranteed you would lose. You just had to try, and give it all you got. Feeding these fears would only hold you back, and then you’d really be in trouble.
Were you completely confident now? No, but you knew you had to change your way of thinking. You loved volleyball, you were good at it. As long as you did your best, there was nothing to be scared of. When it came down to it, it was just the same as any other game. Which you’d won dozens of.
“Thanks, Kenma. You’re really good at this advice thing.” You commented, kissing him on the head before getting up and taking your dishes to clean them off. He grimaced at the affection and pulled away.
“I just wanted you to stop moping. It was getting annoying.” He muttered, attention already turned away from you and back on his game. You rolled your eyes but didn’t say anything else. He could spout all the bullshit he wanted, but you knew the truth. He cared, and he wanted to make sure you were okay.
While you made your way back to your room, your phone went off with a familiar text chime. You paused to check the notification.
tendou:
are you free later?
Despite it being such a simple message, it made your stomach do a flip. You hadn’t been able to see your best friend much due to your busy schedules. But it seemed like the stars had aligned for you today. You had to stop yourself from jumping up and down as you typed out your response.
you:
if you’re lucky. why?
His response came almost instantly.
tendou:
i’m having an early surprise party for myself today, and you’re invited.
you:
an early surprise party for yourself??? explain
tendou:
my birthday is in a couple days, right? and of course i’m going to have a party. BUT, it will be planned by not-me and not as fun. so i’m having one early, today, that’s planned by myself. so i can have fun.
tendou:
and i say surprise party because i didn’t give you any time to prepare. SURPRISE!
You couldn’t help but laugh as you read his incoming messages. Your best friend really could be a handful, but that just made you love him more. Seriously, who threw themselves a birthday party before their actual party just so they could make sure they enjoyed it? Only Tendou Satori would think that was totally normal and execute it. Of course , you’d be attending.
you:
lmao you’re psycho
you:
i’ll be there. what time, what do i need to bring, and what’s the dress code?
tendou:
5, just your beautiful self, and a hazmat suit
you:
?? no
tendou:
you’re no fun :(
tendou:
fine. wear whatever you want, as long as it’s comfortable. and maybe bring pajamas. this party might become an all-nighter.
you:
sounds good. i’ll see you later. xo
tendou:
<3
Your no-plans-day was now ruined, but you were far from mad about it. You’d get to spend some time with Tendou. Though, there was a good chance he had some crazy plan for tonight, so you’d need to be prepared. You also had to get him a present. Even if he said it wasn’t necessary, you wouldn’t be a good best friend if you showed up with nothing. Thus, you had some errands to run.
___________________
Five hours and a couple store trips later, you had everything you’d need for the night. You’d bought his gift, as well as a few games and snacks. Since you had no idea what the party would be like, you thought it better to cover all your bases. You gathered your things just as the time neared five. And once you’d made sure Kenma would eat dinner and remember to be human, you made your way to Tendou’s place.
Your best friend didn’t actually have a place, to be honest. His ‘place’ was the dorm room he shared with Ushijima at Shiratorizawa. But he had found an old storage room last year that he’d since claimed as his own. It wasn’t very big, but it was much spacier than his dorm, which meant more room for activities. You’d been there quite a few times, since it was now just the go-to hangout spot for him and people he could trust with his secret. Your bet was that you’d find him there.
Your bet proved to be correct. As soon as you entered the room, you were bombarded with confetti and a loud, “Surprise!”
You jumped nearly a foot in the air, whirling around to see Tendou standing there with a party popper in his hands. He grinned at you, despite the clear look of annoyance on your face.
“What the hell?” You exclaimed, “Why did you do that? It’s not my surprise party.”
“Because it’s fun! Plus, I’m already here so I can’t be surprised. We had to do it to someone, and that just happened to be you.”
“You scared the shit out of me.” You grumbled, setting your bags down on a table. You took to trying to get all the confetti off of you, which was unbelievably difficult. The damn things were so small and there were a lot of them .
“Well, I’m sorry that I’m the only one who knows how to have fun around here.” He pouted, throwing the used confetti cannon into a nearby garbage bin, “You’re almost as bad as Wakatoshi.”
“Why is not enjoying being covered in small pieces of paper bad?” A familiar deep voice came, and you looked up to see Ushijima leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. You were momentarily taken back for a second, because shit. Instead of his usual tracksuit, he just wore a t-shirt and pants. His arms were mostly exposed, his biceps tight against the sleeves. It was extremely, extremely attractive, and the sight had made your monkey brain lose all coherent thought.
“Because confetti is fun! And you act like it’s a curse from an evil witch.” Tendou cried.
“Witches aren’t real.” Was Ushijima’s calm response. Tendou groaned, shaking his head before walking over to you.
“What’s all this?” He asked, gesturing to the bags you’d brought. You looked at him, breaking out of the internal struggle you’d just gone through. Maybe it involved you wanting to be crushed by a certain gorgeous pair of arms, but that certainly wasn’t anyone’s business.
“Oh, uh-“ You opened one of the bags, revealing an assortment of candy and cookies, “I brought snacks.”
“Whoa! These are all my favorites,” Tendou exclaimed, ruffling through the bag, “This is amazing. We’re going to eat so much crap tonight.”
“I also brought games. I didn’t know what you had planned, so I thought it would be best to be prepared.”
“You are literally a genius, wild girl.” He grinned, already tearing into a pack of gummy candies.
“I know.” You smiled, and you pretended to flip your hair off your shoulder.
“Okay, so we’ll have dinner, play games, and then watch some movies and eat candy. That sound good?”
“Sounds perfect to me.” You replied, and Tendou turned his attention to the ace on the other side of the room. He simply nodded, but that was enough for the redhead.
“Great! I’ll just get dinner, and then we can get into it!” The birthday boy made his way to the door, leaving you standing alone and confused.
“Wait, what? Aren’t you going to wait for the rest of the guests?”
“It’s just you two. I didn’t really want to invite anyone else.” He opened the door, taking a step out, “I’m going to get dinner. You keep yourselves entertained until I get back.” And with that, your friend left. Before you even got a chance to speak. And leaving you alone with someone you’d never had a good time with.
You sighed, frustration humming under your skin. This was not what you’d expected when you came here tonight. Part of you just wanted to forget it and go home. But no, you couldn’t do that. You were here for Tendou- to celebrate his birthday. You couldn’t leave just because you felt a little uncomfortable.
You’d have to suck it up.
Clearing your throat, you turned to Ushijima. He watched you with a blank expression in return. Giving him a nervous smile, you fiddled anxiously with your hands.
“So… how are you?” You asked. Because you could think of nothing else.
“I’m fine.” Was all he gave you in return. You sighed. So much for making conversation.
You looked around the room, searching for something to make this extremely awkward moment more bearable. Your eyes landed on the table, and you pursed your lips. It was the best you had in this situation. It would have to do.
You looked back at him, not shocked to find his eyes still on you. He obviously didn’t have any idea how to act socially. You could relate to that.
“Well. You want to play a game?” You asked.
___________________
You and Ushijima decided to play a card game. It was one of your favorites, but he’d never played it. So of course, you had to spend twenty minutes explaining it and doing some practice rounds. He, unsurprisingly, was a natural. It wasn’t long before he was beating you every round. You’d always been competitive, and it was growing increasingly hard to not attack him.
As you went about your 12th round, you finally got yourself a victory.
“Ha! I win!” You exclaimed, throwing your last card down. You grinned at him, letting your ego take over for a little.
He frowned in return, looking from the cards in his hand to the ones you’d discarded. After a minute, his eyes fell to you, seemingly resolved.
“You cheated.”
The words took you by surprise, and you short-circuited for a second. Was he actually accusing you of cheating? Seriously?
“I did not!”
“That’s the only explanation.”
“No, it isn’t! I’m good at this game, it makes sense that I won!”
“If you’re good, why didn’t you win any of the other rounds?”
“Oh, you little-“
You were half-ready to beat the shit out of him when the door opened and Tendou returned with the food. He stopped short in the doorway, taking in the sight before him. The two of you were on the floor, with Ushijima calmly sitting there, his cards still in his hands. You, on the other hand, were on your knees with clenched fists, anger written all over your face. You looked over at your best friend, nostrils flaring.
He laughed a little, slightly nervous, “What did I miss?”
“We were playing cards, and then y/n cheated.”
“I didn’t fucking cheat!”
“Well, nice to see you two are getting along.” He chuckled, setting down the food and walking over, “Did you have fun, at least?”
“It was quite amusing. She taught me a new game, and I’m very good at it.”
“Beginner’s luck.” You grumbled, slumping down and crossing your arms.
“Oh, come on, y/n. Wakatoshi had fun. Can’t you just say the same and leave it at that?”
You looked at Tendou, whose eyes were sparkling like he’d just succeeded in something. What it was, though, you had no clue. He always had little schemes going on. You moved your gaze to Ushijima, who was watching you with a curious expression. You wondered what was going on in that handsome head of his.
You huffed, “Fine. Whatever. It was fun.” You averted your gaze from both of them, “Let’s just eat.”
“Great idea!”
The three of you ate together, then moved on to play some games. There were no more accusations or yelling, and you ended up really enjoying yourself. Ushijima was disgustingly good at all of them, and you hated that it made you more attracted to him. Seriously, how could a guy with the personality of a glass of water be perfect at everything he ever did? It was an abomination.
After the games were played, it was movie time. You all changed into pajamas and settled down to watch the movies with the snacks you’d brought. Three hours went by in the blink of an eye, and you could barely keep your eyes open by the time credits were rolling. It had been a long, tiring day. So when Tendou brought out blankets and pillows, you could’ve cried tears of joy.
You each got your own makeshift beds, with you on Tendou’s right and Ushijima on his left. It wasn’t long before the room was silent except for the even breathing of the two sleeping boys. Tendou, curled up and clutching the plushie you’d gotten him for his birthday (you were saving the bigger gift for his actual party), and Ushijima asleep on his back with an arm resting on his stomach. You rolled onto your side to face Tendou, and yawned.
It really had been a good time, despite the rough parts. You loved seeing your old friend, and you even had some fun playing with Ushijima. Yes, he was extremely awkward and you had no idea how Tendou kept a friendship with him, but it seemed he was capable of being good company. Even if he did think you cheated just because he lost. Arrogance at its finest.
As you drifted off to sleep, you couldn’t help but think that maybe one day, you could be friends with Ushijima. Maybe.