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Ugh, what is the point if no one on here is interesting , Atsumu thought to himself.
Being a twin meant that Atsumu wasn’t used to being alone. When they had first separated Atsumu loved the silence and the space it granted him,but soon it became suffocating. Tinder was one of the things Atsumu used to pass the time. When he was traveling to away games, didn’t have practice or just had no one else to hang out with.
Atsumu was sitting on the bus going to a volleyball game with his teammates. They were all rowdy and excited about the upcoming match, even their newest spiker seemed to be more excited than usual. Even Atsumu was feeling no different, he was playing his best friend from high school, Suna. Which also meant his twin would be there, because Osamu never missed one of Suna’s games. He rarely even missed Atsumu’s games. When Osamu and Suna were together it tended to make Atsumu just a little jealous. Obviously he was happy for them, but part of him felt lonely after watching them together. It was clear how happy they were just by the way they looked at each other, and part of Atsumu wished he could find that.
He had dated before, but it never ended well. He was busy a lot of the time between games and practices, he made time to see his Ma back at home Hyogo. Atsumu was never a bad boyfriend, he tried to be attentive and understanding, but they would usually get tired of his sassiness, his slight obsession with himself, which he will say is impossible for a professional athlete to not have. It was hard to be able to see him sometimes and when he would finally get to be around them he would become rather clingy and needy, and they would decide he was too much to handle. Atsumu wasn’t always the best at dealing with his emotions, he felt everything so strongly. If he didn’t like someone it turned to hate, liking someone was loving them, and something slightly annoying was often turned into pure rage.
Osamu and Suna, even before they were dating, would help pull him out of his broken-heartedness when he was younger. They would reassure him and take turns babysitting him until they were sure he was okay. As he grew older he grew out of it and learned how to manage his emotions, along with gaining empathy for others. He was never intending to be rude, but he had never considered other people's feelings when he was younger, that was Osamu’s specialty. He never wanted anyone upset with him, unless it was Atsumu, wanted everyone to like him, and was always easier to get along with.
Atsumu hadn’t dated anyone in about 2 years. Once again he had been too much for them to handle, and wasn’t doing the right things and the right time. He had seen it coming so it hadn’t been the worst thing he had experienced but he still felt the same way he always did. Unlovable, like no matter what he would never be enough, he was never going to have someone he could count on again. Sure he had Osamu and Suna but it was in a different way. He wanted someone he could tell everything and anything to, someone who would get him in a way that no one else could. Someone who could be there when he needed them, and not hours away from him most of the time.
One of his teammates had actually been the one to suggest Tinder to him. Hinata Shouyou, his middle blocker. The short, bright ball of energy had brought it up in the locker room after practice one day. The team had already been talking about their personal lives. Bokuto was head over heels for his high school sweetheart, their captain was already married. The rest of them were in new relationships or messing around. Minus Hinata, who hadn’t answered. Atsumu was sitting on the bench in the locker room pulling his shirt over his head.
“Tsum-tsum, are you dating anyone?” Hinata asked without looking over. Pulling his sweatpants on,hopping into them.
“Nah, I dunno, it’s not really fer me.” Atsumu answered, now zipping up his MSBY jacket. Everyone else was beginning to leave the locker room. “How ‘bout you, Shoyo-kun?”
Hinata looked over at him rather excitedly and began rambling. Hinata was someone that never hid himself. He was exceptionally open about anything and everything in his life. “I only care about one person, but our stuff is really complicated. So I use a dating thing when I need to get out my extra energy.” Atsumu’s jaw slightly drops in surprise and he instantly puts it back into place, but Hinata had already noticed and started laughing.
“Yer tellin’ me yer usin’ a datin’ app to sleep ‘round?” Atusmu slowly lets the words leave his mouth. He isn’t worried about offending Hinata, but just perplexed that he was so open about it. There are so many thoughts just flying around inside Atsumu’s head.
“Pretty much yeah. Have you ever used one? It’s kinda fun, I get to meet a lot of new people and we have fun.” Hinata just shrugs nonchalantly.
“Nah, never considered it really. Do ya get any weirdos? Like fans nd stuff?” Atusmu starts to sort through all of his questions. Atsumu was ready to leave the locker room but didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation and get the wrong idea. Atsumu was sitting on the bench with his bag ready to go, and Hinata was standing, leaning on the lockers.
“A few times,” He says honestly, “but you can tell pretty fast by the questions they ask. Most of them are pretty nice, sometimes we don’t even sleep together. We just go on a date, or talk about stuff. Just depends on what both of us are comfortable with.” When Hinata is finished he stands up straight instead of leaning on the locker, signaling to Atsumu that he is ready to go.
“Do ya keep seein’ em? Like after?” Hinata has noticed how interested Atsumu seems to be, and Atsumu is aware because of the way Hinata is looking at him. Slight amusement found in his eyes.
“Sometimes, but I’m pretty clear that I don’t want anything serious.” Now they’re walking through the gym and out the front doors. They don’t live far from each other and walk home together if neither of them has anything else to do. Atsumu, probably for the first time in his life, holds his tongue still until they make it outside.
“So what app do you use?” Atsumu has no shame in asking because when has he ever had shame? And it’s already obvious to Hinata that he’s interested. After Hinata answers him, Atsumu instantly downloads Tinder.
Atsumu isn’t really sure what he expects. He isn’t even sure what he wants at first. What is the harm in just looking around, is what he tells himself. He makes himself a profile, choosing pictures of him playing volleyball, a team photo, one with his twin, Osamu, and one of him alone with his shirt off. He likes that one the most, he enjoys showing off the body he has worked on most of his life. In His bio, he tries to mirror his actual personality, so while other people put ‘looking for adventure’ or ‘want a fun ride’ he makes his fun and snarky like himself. He doesn’t want to make it too long, or difficult to read. He doubts anyone will stick around anyway. If anyone even decides they want to match with him.
Miya, Atsumu 29, Osaka, Japan
Professional volleyball player. The better twin. Funniest person you’ll ever meet. Comes with a hot accent. Best nick-name giver.
For a while he just looks at other peoples profiles, comparing his, and is absolutely positive that his is the best he’s seen. Eventually he swipes right on some people and even meets a few. Quite a few if he’s honest with himself. He doesn’t see anyone more than 3 times. He doesn't want to get attached. He admits the sex was good with the majority of them, some of them were actually very sweet and he could try dating them, but it wouldn’t end well, and prefers to keep the relationships with them physical. Although if Atsumu was being completely honest with himself, that’s also the reason that he doesn’t see anyone more than 3 times. He doesn’t want to push himself and see how long he can keep it just physical so he keeps it to only 3 meetings. Sometimes he’ll sleep with them when they first meet, they talk for a while of course, but Atsumu decides he is rather indifferent about sleeping with people. He enjoys it but doesn’t think it’s some special, world altering event.
That conversation was about a year ago, Atsumu thinks to himself. Bringing his mind back to the bus full of his rowdy teammates. Bokuto and Hinata are having an argument about some animal. Their captain is trying to quiet them down from the obvious anger on the driver's face.
“What’re ya doing Tsum-Tsum?” Bokuto bounces over to him, peering over his shoulder. His eyes become increasingly wider upon seeing Atsumu’s phone on someone's Tinder profile. “Do you like that one?” He asks with a huge smile on his face.
Atsumu looks down at the picture, quickly a strong no forms on his tongue, but he pauses for a second. Looking down at the picture of the man, he is relatively attractive. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and a nice smile. That’s not what Atsumu wants though. He hasn’t met with anyone in a few months. He’s tired of just sleeping with people. He had his time and he had a lot of fun with it but it got boring. “Not my type” He replies to Bokuto. Bokuto shrugs, and turns around to answer a question from Hinata.. Atsumu swipes left and is about to put his away but he catches a glimpse of curly black hair.
He angles his phone back towards his face and he feels his breath get taken away, simply from this person's face. This person. Who is this person, Astumu asks himself. “Shit, he’s hot” a breathless whisper escapes Atsumu’s mouth. This person is definitely his type. .
Sakusa Kiyoomi, 29, Osaka Japan
Child Psychologist. Things should be clean. A little prickly.
Atsumu doesn’t think he’s ever seen someone so beautiful before. His black curly hair around his face. His eyes look black and he has 2 moles above his right eyebrow and Atsumu can’t help but think that it makes him so much more beautiful. In the picture he’s alone, sitting at a table, and Atsumu is pretty sure the picture is a little forced because of the annoyance etched onto Sakusa’s face, he isn’t smiling either. Atsumu goes through his pictures, which aren’t many. Sakusa has a mask on in almost all other photos, but he still looks just as attractive. The only other photo he has without a mask is him in a white coat and a suit, surrounded by a few kids, with a genuine smile on his face. Atsumu would be lying if he tried to say that the suit and white coat didn’t give him a fluttering feeling in his stomach. One of the other two photos he has are of him at graduation, with his family Atsumu guesses. His family looks a lot like him. They all have black hair, the two girls in the photo have Sakusa’s curliness, but the three men in the photo both have very short hair. One of them doesn’t match the others close enough, but also looks so familiar. Is that a half-sibling? A boyfriend? Another family member? Atsumu’s brain tries to guess, knowing he will never get an answer. His focus shifts back to the one interest he has in the photo. Sakusa is the only one with a mask on his face, and none of the family members are touching each other. How odd. Atsumu thinks to himself. He thinks Sakusa is by the far the most breath-taking thing in the photo. Maybe in existence. Even though he is aware that the people in the photo are also relatively attractive they could never compare to Sakusa
.
The last photo in Sakusa’s profile is of him and the other guy, who looks so familiar to Atsumu. The guy from the previous picture next to his family. The other guy has his arm around Sakusa smiling like an idiot and Atsumu can see the amusement and happiness from Sakusa’s eyes. He’s pretty sure Sakusa has a smile under the mask he has on.
“Is he your type Tsum-tsum?” Bokuto snapping Atsumu out of his trance on the beautiful man sitting on his phone screen. Atsumu smiles slightly at his phone, and swipes right.
“I hope he can be Bokkun.” Atsumu stares at his phone a few seconds longer, admiring Sakusa’s face. Suddenly It’s a Match! Goes across his phone screen. Atsumu almost drops his phone, but manages to somehow keep his hold on it so it doesn’t hit the floor of the bus. He is taken off his guard, he didn’t actually think Sakusa would swipe right on him. Not in a million years. Atsumu feels his whole face burst into a smile, and he’s pretty sure that it isn’t leaving for a while.
“He likes you back Tsum! Are you gonna message him? What are you going to say? ‘Kasshi never likes any of my pick-up lines. Wanna hear my best one? Can I follow you home? Cause my parents told me to follow my dreams” Bokuto speaks quickly through his thoughts and has a goofy grin etched onto his face waiting for Atsumu to praise him.
“What was Akasshi-sans reaction?” Hinata pops up and asks.
“Well, he said we already live together, but he smiled.” Bokuto boasts proudly.
Atsumu realizes that he does need to message Sakusa, but he has no idea what to send him. Atsumu goes deep into thought, he has quite an arsenal of pick-up lines in his head. Ones he’s used and ones that have been given to him. His thoughts start to get the best of him. Why would he answer? He probably won’t even read it. He’ll read it and just not reply. He shoves his thoughts down as far as he can and takes a leap of faith. Sakusa swiped right on him too. He has an interest, and even if he doesn’t answer, why would I care? He doesn’t know anything about me. Why am I overthinking this? He picks out a pick-up line he thinks is pretty decent, and types it out on his phone as they’re pulling into the parking lot of the game they’re about to play. He hits send on the message, shoves his phone aggressively into his bag as he gets up to exit the bus. He knows he won’t be able to look at his phone for awhile. He knows he has to have complete focus on the game, and he goes.
I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty good with numbers. Tell you what, give me yours and watch what i can do with it Omi? ;)
The gym was big when he first entered it. Atsumu saw his best friend, Suna standing around talking to his team and he remembers that Osamu is here, somewhere. Atsumu isn’t used to having to look for Osamu at a game, and it was decided when Osamu had stopped playing with him that he wouldn’t look for him. It would be too weird. His brother belonged on the court next to him, not in the stands watching.
Atsumu respected his brother's decision to stop playing but having to look for his brother would only make him upset. So he promised himself he wouldn’t look for him at the games he attended. He also avoids looking during the game but that’s much easier than while they're waiting and just practicing. Atsumu knows if he looked for him he would most likely find Osamu. They are identical twins, everything about them is the same except for Osamu’s dark hair, whereas Atsumu’s hair has been bleached since high school. Atsumu is also a little more muscular than Osamu now, but that’s because Atsumu is still an athlete.
Atsumu’s team wins the game. Not by a lot, but it still counts. He enjoys playing with Suna. He got to taunt him the entire time during the game, focusing more on Suna then on how the game is going and by the end he made sure to make a comment about looking at the scoreboard when Suna seemed to forget who won. They all had to shake hands and went back to their coaches with some final words about the game, and he sent them to the locker rooms.
The locker room is loud and excited as they all go in there for their post game speech. The captain, Meian, tells them how good they did and what they need to work on for the next game. He tries to get through everything quickly, and dismisses them to the showers, reminding them that they’re all going out when they finish. Which is also when Atsumu gets to see Suna and Osamu, and he realizes how much he has missed them.
Atsumu speeds through his shower, ignoring his body's protests of how sore his legs and back feels from playing Suna’s team. He quickly gets dressed, wearing a pair of black jeans and a random t-shirt he had laying around. He begins styling his hair since he’s going out, remembering that they were going out to a bar and wanting to look half-way decent. They were staying the night in town and then heading back to Osaka in the morning. Atsumu already knows most of the team, himself included, would probably be hungover. They didn’t have another game until next weekend so Meian wouldn’t pay attention to them unless they were making a scene.
Atsumu waits for the rest of the team to get out of the showers and gets ready. Normally Atsumu is the one who takes the longest so when they all come out they’re slightly shocked to see Atsumu done and waiting for them. He makes conversation with Bokuto and Hinata, those two being around his age and the same amounts of energy help them get along better than the older members.
“Hey Tsum-Tsum, are you excited?” Hinata asks, being the next one ready to leave.
“Yeah, s’been a long time since I saw Samu and Rin” Atsumu replies.
“A long time meaning a month and a half ago?” their libero, Inunaki remarks. He reminded Atsumu of Suna sometimes, he loved to stir the pot and start drama in any way that was amusing to him. Sometimes it was amusing to Atsumu too.
“We did share a womb for a while, and then a room until I came here, So a bit longer than normal.” Atsumu shrugged. Not really affected by what he said. Bokuto was the last one of the team ready, since he was so picky about the way his spikes had to be set. As soon as he was finished they left for the bar.
As soon as Atsumu got to the bar he quickly found Suna and Osamu. He sat down next to Osamu, picked his drink up and downed the entire thing. Suna watched him in amusement.
“Hey, s’mine. Yer buyin’ my next one.” Osamu said without glancing at Atsumu.
“Are you aware that your team won?” Suna comments watching him with slight amusement. Which meant that Suna was expecting this night to end a lot more eventfully, and Atsumu was somewhere in that plan. Atsumu catches the bartender and orders them another round of drinks. Fully aware that Osamu will not get drunk, and Suna will end up leaving tipsy.
Atsumu easily tells them about any changes he’s had in the past few weeks. He asks Osamu about their mom, his restaurant, and anything that comes to his mind. All the while Suna is feeding him drink and after drink. On top of Meian and Bokuto bringing shots around to help the friendship between the two teams and saying it was a good game. Atsumu notices their new spiker, new as in him starting with them this season, is talking with Inunaki, Barnes and Thomas. while Hinata is bouncing from group to group trying to find someone to dance with.
“Seeing anyone, Atsumu?” Suna supplies, with a sly grin attached to his face. Suna has always been able to read Atsumu without even trying. Not that Atsumu had ever hidden anything from Suna, that was his best friend.
“What makes ya ask that dumbass question Sunarin?” Atsumu replies. His mind immediately flies to Sakusa, and Atsumu feels as though his pocket containing his phone is now burning a hole through his pants. Even though he hasn’t even spoken to the other man.
“You said you were tired of flings last time. I just wondered.” Suna answered defensively, putting his hands up in surrender. Atsumu doesn’t supply him with an answer and turns back to his fourth or fifth drink, he’s lost count by now, but he isn’t drunk yet.
He fishes his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it. His mind isn’t going to stop thinking about the pretty man with the curly black hair until he can see if he opened his message. Immediately he can see he has unread messages, he just doesn’t know who they're from. Atsumu feels his stomach doing flips and this time he shows no hesitation in finding and opening the previous message he had sent. And there’s a reply from the pretty boy himself.
Sakusa: That’s really the best you’ve got?
Sakusa: That isn’t my name.
Sakusa: ***-***-****. Don’t message me if you can’t come up with something better.
Atsumu stares at the screen in disbelief. He answered me. He really answered. I even have his phone number. Atsumu quickly types back.
Today, I gave up on eating an apple a day, cause I don’t wanna keep you away Omi-omi:)
“What has ya smilin’ so hard Tsumu?” He looks over and his twin and Suna are staring at him in amusement. Knowing that they caught him smiling at his phone like a fool. He gives up early, not wanting to have an argument when they are supposed to be celebrating and tells them about the guy he’s -barely- messaging. They ask to see pictures and Atsumu supplies them with the few he has seen.
“Sakusa Kiyoomi, huh? That’s what has you acting like a schoolgirl?” Suna said, meeting Atsumu’s eyes. Atsumu could swear that he could see a mischievous glint in Suna’s eyes. When Atsumu supplies no response Suna continues, “At least he gave you his phone number.”
One of Suna’s teammates comes up to where they are sitting, bringing another round of drinks. Atsumu internally groans, knowing he will have to finish his, the new one being handed to him, his twins, and probably half of Sunas. “Here you guys go, you did really well out there Miya.” Sending him a small smile. Atsumu wasn’t sure what it was but he felt like he knew Suna’s teammate from somewhere besides the other side of the net. “We’re leaving after drinking this, Suna. If you’re coming with us.” Suna’s teammate continued.
“Nah, I’ll stay with Osamu tonight. Thanks anyway Motoya.” Suna didn’t ever take his eyes off Atsumu when he replied. Atsumu gave Suna a look saying ‘what’ but Suna just shrugged and turned toward Osamu, who started talking about when he had to leave for work tomorrow. His phone vibrated in his hand and he immediately looked down to see a notification from tinder. Atsumu moved his fingers as fast as he could to open the new message.
Sakusa: Wrong kind of doctor, Miya.
Atsumu was definitely feeling the alcohol before he read that message, but he downed the rest of one of the ones in front of him before replying.
Miya: A doctor is still a doctor though. Same school. I think.
Miya: Am I allowed to message you, your highness? Or was that not good enough? I have loads more.
He hits send, looking through their messages Atsumu realizes that Sakusa responded almost instantly to the message he sent on the bus ride. He feels a twinge of guilt run down his spine. Maybe he should have tried to check his phone sooner. His phone buzzes again, already open to the messages.
Sakusa: I gave you the number for a reason.
Atsumu waits a minute to see if he sends anything else, but he doesn’t. Atsumu realizes again, he doesn't know what to send in his message. Was phone messaging different from tinder? He had never really thought about it before, but he also had never cared before. He takes a drink from the next drink, more like half the glass, and saves Sakusa’s number under his new nickname, and types him a new message.
To Omi: If I got you to do mouth-to-mouth to me, I don’t think drowning would be half bad.
Atsumu stares at his phone, a small smile placed on his face. Osamu and Rin are in their own little world, and Atsumu just ignores whatever they’re talking about and tries to enjoy their company. He thinks Sakusa isn’t going to answer after a few minutes and finishes his next drink. He looks over and sees that Osamu has pushed his glass over to Atsumu, Suna however has drunk almost all of his and has started getting handsy with Osamu. Which isn’t out of the ordinary when he drinks. His phone vibrates again in his hand.
Omi: Still not that kind of doctor.
Are you dumb? Or is today just special?
Atsumu: Today’s a little special. My team won our game. Volleyball. We’re
out celebrating actually.
Omi: Congratulations. I’m sure you
played well.
Atsumu: I was amazing Omi.
Always am.
Wait. If you’re a doctor shouldn’t
you be sleeping? They’re always
tired.
Omi: I’m a psychologist, Miya. I
work with kids and specialize in
OCD treatments. So, I work office
hours. It’s barely midnight, and it’s
a weekend. How much have you
celebrated?
Atsumu: I’m touched you care
so much.
Can I call you?
Atsumu sits at the bar, deciding how badly he wants to hear Sakusa’s voice, and imagines it being the best thing he’s ever heard. He finished Osamu’s drink while messaging back and forth, and feels like he’s on top of the world with nothing he could lose. It probably doesn't help that Suna and Osamu are getting more and more handy the longer they’re sitting at the table. It makes Atsumu feel a little lonely.
Omi: Yes.
Atsumu reads his message and immediately hits the call button on his phone. Like magic, Suna is suddenly asking questions about Atsumu and what he’s doing. “Atsumu, who’re ya calling?” Suna was pretty much sitting on Osamu’s lap and somehow managed to untangle himself from around his neck. “Ohhh, is it Sakusa? Can I say hi?” Atsumu is convinced that the entire night Suna has had a devious grin plastered onto his face.
“Hello Miya.” He hears Sakusa answer the phone and he can tell his entire face immediately goes bright red. His voice is even better than he could have imagined. It’s deep, but smooth and reminds him of velvet. He doesn’t know if he could ever get tired of hearing it.
“Hi Omi” Atsumu manages to squeak out, trying to make his voice have its normal flair. Atsumu would really prefer to not have everyone hear his conversations, and the bar is louder than he thought as he stands to go talk outside. He is grateful that it isn’t the middle of winter, but he still feels a chilly breeze as he walks outside and leans against the wall.
“Sounds like you’re having a very loud night,” Sakusa replied.
“Heh, yeah, they’re havin’ a great time in there.. They’ll all start leavin’ soon though.” Atsumu can still feel the smile plastered on his face, and he’s not sure if it's ever going to go away.
“Are you leaving with them?” Sakusa asks. Atsumu thinks he might be concerned but Sakusa’s voice is even when he asks, maybe even a little annoyed.
**************
Atsumu can feel the pounding in his head before he even opens his eyes. When he does he instantly regrets meeting the sunlight and rolls onto his stomach, hiding himself from the world. In his brief introduction to the morning sunlight, he had recognized his hotel room ceiling. So he knows he made it back, somehow. He thinks and tries to remember last night. He remembers winning the game, he remembers Suna and Osamu at the bar. He remembers messaging Sakusa. His voice was-
His voice.”Fuck” Is all Atsumu hisses out as he tries to find his phone, while hiding himself from the sunlight. He finds his phone laying under his pillow and slowly tries to open his eyes.
The sunlight still hurts but it’s more manageable as he tries again. Atsumu unlocked his phone and the first notification he can see is a message from Sakusa.
Omi: When you wake up drink another
glass of water and take the pills you set
on the nightstand.
Atsumu’s first thought is oh no. Quickly followed by him looking over to his nightstand. Surely enough, there is a glass of water and pills sitting there. Atsumu quickly takes the pills, but slowly drinks the water. He scrolls up through Sakusa’s messages, there isn’t anything new that he doesn’t remember last night. Atsumu pulls up his call logs. To his horror, he sees:
Omi
Facetime 3:36:15
Phone call 1:07:56
Atsumu stares at his phone in complete silence for what feels like hours. He talked to Sakusa on the phone for an hour? He barely remembers 5 minutes of their conversation. Then he facetimed him for three hours? What did they talk about? What did he tell him? The first time they talk and Atsumu can’t even remember it. The first time they talk, Sakusa makes sure he has water and medication beside him in the morning.
Atsumu: Hey, Omi.
What happened last night?
Atsumu waits a minute for a reply but nothing comes. After a few more minutes he decides to get up and shower. He has to be on the bus back home around 1pm, which leaves him time to get ready, eat and make sure everything is packed correctly. He wonders if he should make sure everyone else wakes up but he’s sure that Meian will take care of it. He goes back to worrying about his own throbbing headache.
Omi: Did you listen to me?
Atsumu gets out of the shower. Checks his phone, but decides not to answer immediately. Sakusa didn’t even bother to answer his question. He can wait until Atsumu is eating at least. Atsumu dresses himself in sweats, letting himself look how he feels. He brushes his teeth, does his hair, goes through his entire routine before picking up his phone and heading downstairs to the food area. Most of the team is already there eating and they greet him good morning. He sits down looking at the menu in front of him and orders something that doesn’t make him want to vomit. He pulls out his phone.
Atsumu: Yeah. I took the meds,
and drank the water. Your turn.
Atsumu barely has to wait for a reply.
Omi:You were drunk.
We talked. You didn’t want to listen to me.
Atsumu: What did we talk about?
Samu says I don’t listen when I
drink either.
Omi:You said that last night.
Atsumu: What else did I say
last night?
Atsumu focuses on trying to eat with the team, when he realizes they all must feel pretty close to how he does. It's so quiet, they’re still talking but normally they’re team is the loudest thing on the block, and they’re currently not provoking his headache. Clearly he wasn’t the only one with a hangover. Atsumu waits until after breakfast when he finally gets a response.
Omi: That’ll be my secret.
Atsumu: That’s harsh Omi.
Friends don’t keep secrets.
Omi: Good thing we aren’t
friends.
Are you coming back today?
Atsumu realizes that Sakusa changes the conversation, but he lets him. If Sakusa didn’t want to tell Atsumu he wasn't going to. Atsumu couldn’t change whatever had happened on the phone. Maybe this was for the best. He tended to be emotional and needy when he was drunk anyway. He could only imagine what horrifying things he had said. Atsumu reminded himself that Sakusa was still messaging him, he still wanted to talk to him. Whatever had happened wasn’t that bad, or it didn’t bother Sakusa enough to stop whatever they had going on.
Over the next few days Atsumu and Sakusa talked almost non-stop, minus when they slept. Atsumu would always message him good morning before he went to practice. Sakusa would reply when he got up,and they would respond to each other when they got breaks. None of the conversations were deep but they still made Atsumu happy. After two days of non-stop messaging, Atsumu got the courage to ask him if he could call him again. Then that became part of their new rhythm together. Atsumu would call when he got home, around dinnertime and they would talk for an hour or two before Sakusa would say he had to get ready for bed, or needed a shower, or had to finish some work.
He was keeping mental lists of any information he could get out of Sakusa, which wasn’t a whole lot. He was very different from Atsumu, who loved to tell someone anything that came into his head, Sakusa kept most of his thoughts and feelings to himself. Sakusa had very strong opinions on dirt and germs, and while Atsumu wasn’t a dirty person he wasn’t sure if he could reach Sakusa’s standards on cleanliness. Especially when they started facetiming instead of calling, Atsumu could see how clean everything in Sakusa’s apartment was and the way there was a bottle of hand sanitizer in every room.
Atsumu’s favorite thing to do was facetime Sakusa, because when Sakusa was home he didn’t wear a mask, so Atsumu could stare at Sakusa’s face as much as he wanted to. Sakusa didn’t have a lot of friends, he was closest with his cousin and had some friends from university. When Atsumu asked why Sakusa had tinder his response was ‘ my cousin forced me’, and that gave Atsumu all the ammunition he needed.
“Forced ya?” Atsumu reiterated slowly, his gaze cutting to the side.
“Yeah, apparently I’m going to be alone forever. He downloaded it and set everything up on my phone, he was doing almost all of it for me.” Sakusa said as he was making something for dinner. Atsumu could tell his phone was propped up against something. Sakusa was using both hands to cut some vegetables.
“Doin’ all of it fer ya?... like, messages too?” Atsumu asked.
“No, everything else though.” Sakusa answered without looking back at the phone.
“Omi, can I take ya to get dinner this weekend?” Atsumu had been debating on asking for a while, but what did he have to lose? He also didn’t know how many people Sakusa was talking to, especially if his cousin was doing most of the leg work.. Atsumu discovered a new fondness of Sakusa as his eyes opened in surprise and he stopped chopping vegetables. He quickly covered his reaction but didn’t respond for a few seconds.
“You have a game this weekend.” He said a little quieter than normal, and went back to chopping vegetables. A little oh squeaks out of Atsumu involuntarily, he feels like a fool. He doesn’t notice Sakusa looking at the camera to assess his reaction. It’s quiet for a few seconds before Sakusa adds, “Coffee. If it doesn’t take too long.”
“Okay. How long do ya think coffee takes? We could go before my game Saturday?” Atsumu wonders if Sakusa is trying to politely decline him. Atsumu decided to push a little, because it’s his other favorite thing to do but knows he’ll drop it if Sakusa deflects again.
“You’re picking the place, and the time. You’re paying too.” Sakusa responds shortly. Atsumu still breaks out into a smile with a quiet “okay, Omi.”
“Do you give abhorrent nicknames to everyone?”
“Maybe yer just special.”
“I very much doubt that, Miya”
“Only if I know them. I didn’t give Samu his, unless ya count that as a nickname. He already looks like me though, that’s special enough. He’s also why I ask ya to stop callin’ me that.” Atsumu knows he gets a bit sassy at the end but he likes riling Sakusa up.
“Does your brother play too?” Another flawless Sakusa transition, as Atsumu calls it. They talk about Osamu for a while. His restaurant and how they played together when they were younger. Sakusa admits he played when he was younger and still likes to watch it. Atsumu makes sure to mentally take note of that.
As soon as they hang up Atsumu messages Suna, telling him about the date. The only thing he gets back is ‘ don’t mess it up’’ followed by some emojis. Atsumu is aware that he’s joking but can’t help but agree. Over the next few days, anytime there is a slight difference in response times. Atsumu is half-convinced Sakusa is going to never message him again, or just stand him up, but that never happens, everything continues as normal. They still have a phone call every night and message each other during the day.
Shit. I think I’m attached. I haven’t even met him. The realization hits Atsumu Friday after practice. Atsumu is pretty sure he’s never felt this way about another person, which opens up more intimidating thoughts.
When he gets home he immediately calls Sakusa. He stopped asking a few days ago, and Sakusa hasn’t said anything or complained about it, so Atsumu thinks he’s in the clear for now.
He smiles when Sakusa answers but quickly realizes Sakusa isn’t at home. Sakusa has his mask on. Atsumu is pretty positive he’s in an office, probably his office. There’s a computer set up next to him and papers over the desk. Sakusa has a pen in his hand and is writing something pretty quickly.
“Everything okay?” Atsumu supplies, he thinks he’s pretty successful in hiding his apprehension.
“Yeah, I have some stuff I need to finish here.”
“We can talk later, so ya can finish? I don’t wanna distract ya”
“If you were going to distract me that much I wouldn’t have answered, Atsumu.” Sakusa successfully stuns Atsumu into silence by calling him by his given name. Atsumu stares at him, unable to speak, but he’s positive that was the point when he can see the corners of Sakusa’s eyes lift, as though he’s smiling. Sakusa looks more amused than Atsumu has ever seen him when Sakusa looks over to his phone. “You can be quiet. I was starting to wonder.”
“Omi, there are lots of ways to get me to be quiet. I’ll even tell ya them, if ya ask me real nice.” Atsumu makes sure Sakusa can see him wink at the phone. He can hear Sakusa sigh all the way from the phone and stares at the phone with a huge grin plastered on his face.
“How was your day?” Sakusa asks, turning back to his paperwork. Atsumu tells him about practice, and Bokuto missing a perfect set because he got distracted. How many serves he could do before his arm felt sore. Atsumu has already eaten and gotten into bed when he can see Sakusa getting ready to leave the office. Atsumu debates on asking what was taking him so long to finish but decides against it, if Sakusa wanted to tell him he would.
“Are ya still okay with gettin’ coffee tomorrow?” Atsumu asks, even if he doesn't want Sakusa to change his mind, he is aware how late it is and can only imagine what kind of nighttime routine Sakusa has, because Atsumu is positive he has one.
“Yes.” Sakusa’s answers were short all night and Atsumu blamed them on his work, so Atsumu wasn’t taking them personally. Sakusa was now sitting in his car, and Atsumu knew he was going to end the phone call. Which was okay, but Atsumu was pretty sure he wasn’t going to sleep well tonight, he was too excited.
“Goodnight Omi. Can’t wait to see ya tomorrow” Atsumu replied with a lazy smile.
“Night” Atsumu hits the end button first. Rolling over in his bed, falling asleep to thoughts about tomorrow.