Work Text:
It was the day of Shouyou’s try out into the Jackals when it happened.
It’s been what, three? Four? Years since he last saw Shouyou. Perhaps Atsumu shouldn’t be so surprised by sight of his near-unrecognizable rival slash junior then, but Shouyou came into the gym like a hurricane—bringing with him his tanned arms, bulky build, and most strikingly, the self-assured smile on his face—Atsumu felt like he couldn’t be blamed for that skip in his heart right? Yeah.
Well, one thing Atsumu is definitely not surprised at is how Shouyou immediately got accepted. The flush of his cheeks as he watched Shouyou honest-to-goodness soar to hit the ball is also, in hindsight, not surprising. After all, Atsumu had always been a simple gay.
“Alright then, Shouyou-kun, let’s celebrate you getting into the team, hmm?” Atsumu grinned, slinging his arm around Shouyou’s neck once they’ve all arrived at the locker room, all clean and shit after showering. “This nice senpai of yours will treat you to somethin’ this once. What cuisine flickers your fancy right now, hmm?”
Shouyou grinned back, still clearly exhilarated from his recent success. Also smelling faintly of lavender, is that his shampoo? This kid is growing more and more into a heartthrob every second. “Ah, thank you Atsumu-san—“
“Tsumtsum, we promised to go out to get ramen today, right?”
Beat.
Atsumu blinked. He glanced at Bokuto, gaze unsure. Apparently he was standing behind him all this time. Since when?
“Umm, look here, Bokkun. Yeah, we did agree to that, but—“
“Right, you even remembered! So that means you can’t go with Hinata right? Since you’re going with me.”
Atsumu blinked. What the hell has gotten into this guy? Yeah, they did agree beforehand, but it’s not like this is their first time going—ehem—going out. They’ve already hung out multiple times before, so what's the rush? Must it be required for Atsumu to talk some sense into him?
“Bokkun, we agreed to that a week ago. But now's the time to celebrate Shouyou-kun’s successful try-out, so I think we can agree to postpone that until a little later, dont’cha think?” Atsumu spoke slowly, trying to enunciate his words clearly lest Bokuto managed to misunderstand even the simplest sentence he uttered. Honestly, Atsumu didn’t think Bokuto was stupid, but his action is threading a thin line here.
“Exactly, we promised to go out a week ago. Since we made that agreement before Hinata’s try out, isn’t it natural that we prioritize that?” Bokuto replied, not missing a beat. Heck, Atsumu thinks Bokuto didn’t even think he was in the wrong here—or that he’s acting really rude right now, what the heck? On top of not budging an inch, he had the gall to say everything straight to Atsumu’s eyes. In fact, Atsumu can see those eyes growing—colder? What?
Just as Atsumu was about to retort back, Bokuto lifted his gaze away from him—towards Shouyou. “That’s how it is, Hinata, so sorry about that!” Bokuto said, putting his hands together with eyes scrunched up in apology. “We’ll make it up to you the first chance we get! We’ll definitely treat you to anything you want then!”
Hold on, why is this bastard deciding things on his own?
“Oi, wait, I didn’t—“
“Oh, that’s great, Bokuto-san!”
Wha—?
“Well, to be honest, I wanted to say thanks, but I can’t go today, Atsumu-san,” Hinata smiled, sheepishly scratching his cheek. “I promised my boyfriend we’ll celebrate right after if I managed to get in the team, so today’s a no-go for me,’’ he continued, nonchalantly picking up his phone from his bag as if to ignore the blush creeping up his own face.
“Oh!” Holding out his phone towards Atsumu and Bokuto, Hinata grinned, his blush now unmistakable. “Seems like he’s already outside—since he also promised to pick me up.” Pocketing the phone into his jacket pocket, Hinata started readying himself to go out. “Well then, see you tomorrow, Atsumu-san, Bokuto-san! Thanks for your offer!” He shouted, already running to the exit with eyes looking forward. Well. Of course, he would trip if he looked back. And of course he would be looking forward to a date with his boyfriend, Atsumu thinks. It’s the gorgeous ones that’s always taken, he sighed inwardly.
“Whoa,” Atsumu jolted at the voice, almost having forgotten the other party of the conversation. Right. He’s still there. “Hinata has a boyfriend? I didn’t know! I gotta ask him later!” Smiling up to his face as if he’s done nothing wrong, Bokuto continued speaking. “All’s well that ends well, huh, Tsumtsum? We can go get our ramen now, and we can treat Hinata tomorrow or anytime else!” He blinked, catching his words. “Wait, is anytime else a word?”
Hearing him being so carefree—and no, Atsumu never heard someone say anytime else, thanks—Atsumu couldn’t contain his annoyance anymore. Pointing his finger accusingly at Bokuto, Atsumu snapped. “Oi, you, what the hell was that? That was so rude! Ain’tcha Shouyou-kun’s friend?”
Even after that, Bokuto seems unfazed. In fact, he looked rather confused. “What do you mean? I just said we can’t celebrate today ‘cause we have another plan! How is that rude?” God, why is this guy so infuriating sometimes?
“It ain’t about that—you coulda said it differently, ya know?” Atsumu sighed, wondering how the heck they arrived at the situation where Atsumu has to teach Bokuto—who is one year his senior, might he add—some manners. “How you said it makes it almost seem like you don’t want Shouyou-kun eatin’ with us, or somethin’.” Crossing his arms, Atsumu continued. “’Sides, my point still stand—we coulda just went to our—outing—” Atsumu coughed a little, now wondering why he tripped on that word,”—at another time. Celebration’s only right when it’s right after the event, ain’t it? ’S not like eating ramen was urgent, anyhow.”
At that, Bokuto seemed to be even more determined in his standing. “A promise is a promise! We promised to go out for ramen today, so we’re gonna go!” As if mirroring his movement, Bokuto also crossed his arms, glaring at Atsumu all the while. “Why are we still talking about this again? It's not like Hinata can come now. Or what, are you still insisting we should celebrate even without him around?”
Why the hell is HE the one that’s offended!?
“Oh my God, what the heck has gotten into you?? Are you unable to live without ramen or something? Huh, Bokuto-kun? You can’t live unless you have a bottomless pit of soggy noodles shoved down your throat until you choke? Is that it?” At this point, Atsumu was barely holding back from accusing Bokuto of PMS—that was how low his mood has gotten. However, Kita-san and Aran-kun had worked tirelessly to curb that habit of his, and he’s not gonna let this—this, guy, bring down their effort to raise Atsumu into a Respectable Man. Nope. Not today, sire.
Three seconds had passed.
Atsumu tried to calm his breathing. God, he can feel the vein in his forehead about to pop.
Seven seconds had passed.
Okay, everything’s fine. Atsumu’s heart rate is lowering—it’s no longer going jackhammer from rage. Everything’s ok.
Twelve seconds.
“Holy shit, say somethin’! You were so noisy just a moment ago, and now yer suddenly speechless? Don’t give me that!” Everything’s not fine. Atsumu cannot, he literally cannot bear this annoying, persistent, insufferable, cute—no he's not cute, stop it!—guy any longer!
“Oi! I said—!”
“It’s not the ramen.”
Beat.
Atsumu blinked. He turned towards Bokuto, his gaze unsure.
“Right. It ain’t the ramen.” Atsumu repeated slowly, somehow wary. It feels like he’s missing something here. “So, what is it, then?”
Bokuto’s the one whose gaze is unsure now. Looking away from Atsumu towards the floor, his eyes almost look contemplative. If this was anytime else—great, now Bokuto’s choice of words is influencing Atsumu—he would’ve looked appreciatively at this rare sight of Bokuto.
His gaze turning resolute, Bokuto stared straight towards Atsumu. “It’s not the ramen, Tsumsum. I mean, it’s the ramen too, but it’s not just that,” he spoke, voice unwavering. “It’s eating ramen with you.”
Again, Atsumu blinked. What?
“You’re right. I get it now, how I acted with Hinata was really…” Bokuto grimaced. Looks like he’s coming to his senses. “In any case… I should apologize to him. But, that ramen is a big deal because I’m gonna eat it with you!”
Uh. What? “Right… and you couldn’t… uh, eat ramen with me?” Atsumu winced. That sounded so weird. “Uh, I mean, couldn’t you eat ramen with me, you know? Together with Shouyou-kun? Like, the more the merrier and such? Eating ramen together?” Atsumu’s starting to sweat, even though he already showered and the gym is air-conditioned. What the hell is happening?
“No,” Bokuto shook his head—but not his voice. Somehow, his voice is still stable. Remarkable, really—Atsumu felt himself parched looking at him. Otherwise, why is Atsumu’s mouth so dry?
“The one I wanna eat ramen with is you, Tsumtsum.” He paused. If it was to breathe, he didn’t show it, and Atsumu didn’t notice. “Not Hinata, not anyone on the team—nobody else.” This time, Atsumu can clearly see him exhaling. Is he taking deep breaths now? If so, Atsumu didn’t blame him. The air around him also feels suffocating—otherwise, why is Atsumu struggling to breathe, too?
“Atsumu,” he jerked, surprised at the sound of his (proper!) name, eyes snapping from Bokuto’s mouth to his eyes involuntarily (when did he move them there in the first place?).
As if noticing Atsumu losing composure, Bokuto paused again in his sentence. Atsumu almost wished he would get over it, fast. Almost.
“Atsumu,” Bokuto repeated. His voice still didn’t waver, but Atsumu noticed that it… soften. Shit. “Will you go out with me?”
Atsumu blinked, his jaw loosening. Shit, holy shit. “To—to eat, ramen?” That must be it, right? That’s what he meant, right?
Bokuto nodded. “Yeah—will you go out on a date with me to eat ramen?”
Da-date—? As in, da—
“As in, will you date me?”
Holy. Fucking. Shit.