Work Text:
Tendou Satori has loved making friends over videogames ever since he had found out about the world of online gaming. But it was in Overwatch of all things that he met one of his best friends.
Matsumeme is probably Tendou's favourite tank to queue with. He's attentive and kind and is smart enough to peel back for his supports if necessary, not to mention he knows how to hold his goddamn shield up in-game.
Tendou is a little bit in love with him, though not just for his gameplay. Matsumeme, like his name suggests, is a king at memes. He makes the best jokes that Tendou guffaws at. Unlike Tendou, when Matsumeme laughs, it's low and a little bit raspy and it's attractive . Even if they're not in a game, Tendou can trust Matsumeme to make his day and cheer him up if he needs it.
What a plight it is to fall in love with a stranger on the Internet. The notification light blinks on his phone, letting him know that he's missed a message from the discord server that he and Matsumeme are both in.
When he unlocks his phone and taps on the notification, he's greeted by a screenshot of Matsumeme's rank, fallen by over a hundred points in the last hour or so. Tendou sighs, knowing his own support rank has dropped by about a hundred as well.
Tendou types out his own response as several other people start to type.
[Today, 11:23pm] miraclemonster :
I thought that I said to NOT q without me ?????
[Today, 11:23pm] matsumeme :
pfft thought these gold could carry me
[Today, 11:23pm] hermitmakki :
need a carry? xD
[Today, 11:24pm] matsumeme :
yes bless us with your plat dps makki
matsumeme has come online, the battle net application informs him as Tendou settles down into his gaming chair.
[Today, 11:25pm] miraclemonster:
omw bb, ur personal pocket is here
A notification pops up in his direct messages, catching his attention. Matsumeme has sent him a private message.
[Today, 11:25pm] matsumeme:
wanna use private vc? not really in the mood to q with anyone else today
Instead of responding, Tendou slips his headset over his ears as he clicks into discord on his desktop and calls Matsumeme. Discord's ringtone plays in his ear. Tendou thumbs at the volume wheel on his headset to lower it. Matsumeme picking up is punctuated by an "oof!" and the creak of a chair.
"Hey you!" Matsumeme greets him.
"Hey there waifu, love of my life." Tendou responds routinely. He giggles when he hears Matsumeme give a long, drawn-out sigh from the other end of the call. It is his usual response when Tendou bestows him with a nickname that drips with affection. Matsumeme’s chair creaks, barely coming through the microphone, before the game loads up and he receives a party invite.
“Just so you know,” Matsumeme says as he queues them up for a match. “Alienfucker thinks we’re dating now.”
“Of course! Who else could you possibly date?” Tendou retorts. From the waiting screen, Matsumeme creates a custom one versus one game, which Tendou absolutely hates because he’s got a reputation to uphold! Especially when it comes to the support characters and he absolutely has to win.
“I’ll have you know that I am a specimen in my prime!” Matsumeme teases as his character model hops into Tendou’s field of view. The red outline of Soldier 76 is jarring against the background of the map, but Tendou ducks his own character model out of the way, ready to whip out his gun. “Come back here!” Matsumeme yells into his mic.
“Never!” Tendou howls when he’s shot from behind, Matsumeme’s character chasing him down as he strafes across the map in a desperate attempt not to get shot. “You know my aim is shit leave me be!”
“Fight me coward!” Matsumeme crows playfully, letting out an excited laugh as he manages to nail a few headshots on Tendou’s character, sending them into the next round with a new, different character.
“I hate you so much!”
“I love you too.” Matsumeme replies instantly. Tendou’s cheeks blush from the other side of the screen, feeling his stomach clench. He feels warm all over as Matsumeme chuckles and proceeds to kill him with Roadhog of all people after finding him standing still hidden in one of the side rooms.
“God I hate Hog.” Tendou groans as he throws his head back in frustration. “Seriously how do you even play him?”
“I’ll teach you some time if you really want to find out.” Matsumeme offers as they enter the third round. Tendou sighs, staring at Widowmaker looking back at him on his screen. “Hey at least you’ll win this one.” Matsumeme adds as Tendou starts to grapple around the map.
He spots Matsumeme’s character model peeking out from behind a wall, just as he’s about to get a perfect, sick , headshot on him, the game exits from the custom match, their queue timer lighting up in a nice, vibrant purple as it tells them joining game . Tendou screeches.
“I swear to fucking god!” Tendou slams his palm onto the table. “I was so fucking close!”
On the other end of the discord call, Matsumeme howls and doubles over with laughter as Tendou starts to swear at his disk. “Suffer miracle boy! Suffer!” Matsumeme croaks between laughs, patting himself on the chest as he chokes on air from laughing too hard.
“Shut up!” Tendou snaps, although there isn’t any real heat behind his words. “That’s so fucking unfair.”
“Doesn’t matter now.” Tendou can imagine Matsumeme waving the words off as he selects a hero. “What are you playing miracle boy?”
“Ana, obviously,” Tendou says, although as he hovers over the character selection screen he frowns. “Did this fucker just take Ana?”
“Join voice chat and ask?” Matsumeme says. In the background of the character select screen, Tendou watches Reinhardt, controlled by Matsumeme emote in the middle of their spawn.
“Like he’s gonna give it to me, he’s a higher rank than me!” Tendou argues. He huffs, narrowing his eyes at the plat support that instantly locked Ana before he selected Mercy and attached her healing beam to Reinhardt. “Pocketing you, I don’t give two shits if we have a Pharah.” Tendou tells him in a firm tone.
“Oh I know.” Matsumeme’s mechanical keyboard clicks rapidly as he spam taps A and D while running out of spawn and Tendou follows him, ready to kick some ass.
They make it through fourteen straight games before Tendou gets a throbbing headache behind his eyes and his back protests how he slouches in his chair in front of his desk. His wrist kinda stings where he’s been propping it up against the edge of his desk for support instead of using the fancy, wrist support mouse pad that he bought. He lowers his head from his screen as Matsumeme queues them for their fifteenth game.
They’ve gone twelve to two, a good number of wins considering their first two games were hard losses where they each lost about a hundred and twenty rank points between them. How they each managed to lose just under sixty points in two games, they had no clue, but they made more than enough to cancel out those losses.
“You alright there miracle boy? You’ve gone a bit quiet?” Matsumeme’s voice softens dramatically from the exaggerated tone he was using as he berated one of their teammates from the last game they played. “You good?”
Tendou allows his eyes to flutter shut as he props his elbow onto his table and leans his face against his palm of his hand, pressing the base of his palm against his eye. “Got a massive headache right now.” Tendou mutters.
“You’ve got some water with you right?” Matsumeme asks, ever the caring friend, as Tendou found out the last time he was sick. The tank player had gotten his PO Box from his twitch account and had sent him a care package which had packet chicken soup and a warm hoodie that smelt like cologne and fabric softener to keep him warm during the winter nights, since Tendou complained that he was always cold even when he got covered up. “Drink some of that and lower the brightness on your screen okay?”
Tendou does as he’s told. He reaches for the one-litre bottle of water he always keeps next to his shelf with little succulents and cacti on it, presents from his best friend Ushijima, and gulps down as much as he can until he’s panting when he pulls away. Matsumeme says something that makes him smile before he thumbs at the buttons on his monitor to lower the screen brightness.
It’s moments like these where he wishes the fondness behind Matsumeme’s tone of voice actually means something other than just friendly concern. They’ve known each other for almost two years now through this game, and while they’ve only ever exchanged a few selfies and pet pictures, cat photos in Matsumeme’s case and Leopold the leopard gecko in Tendou’s, they’d gotten pretty close, close enough that there was even a time that Matsumeme offered to pay for Tendou to come out so he wouldn’t have to go home for a lonely Christmas.
They haven’t gone far enough for their names though, a line that Tendou wishes they could so desperately cross. Sometimes his brain fantasizes what his name would sound like muttered in Matsumeme’s low growl, or in an excited yell. It makes Tendou’s skin tingle and his heart flutter in his chest.
Tendou is in so deep. This crush on Matsumeme sometimes drives him crazy. He’s seen pictures of the guy. Curly dark hair, droopy, sleepy, intuitive eyes that can definitely stare into your soul even if it’s through a screen. Matsumeme is fit too. His shoulders are broad, biceps wonderfully defined. Tendou has even seen a little of his six-pack from a gym selfie that he had sent ages ago.
“Hey miracle boy? You okay there?” Matsumeme’s concern cracks through Tendou’s thoughts, reminding him that he is still indeed on a call with his friend and they’re waiting for the queue to pop them a game.
“Yeah sorry.” Tendou shakes his head and then slaps his palms against his cheeks to knock himself out of it. “I’m good, I just zoned out a little.” Tendou blinks at his screen, heart fluttering in his chest as Matsumeme sighs in relief over the call.
“Good, I thought something happened,” Matsumeme says gently. “I’d hate for something to happen to ya, especially like that.”
Tendou’s heart clenches even harder before he forces a fake smile onto his face so that it comes through the mic that he’s fine .
*
It starts with a meme.
Well actually it started long before that, when Hermitmakki had messaged him just after dinner time a couple days ago, just to ask about a new game that Tendou was voice acting for.
Hermitmakki posts a meme at two in the morning, so by right of Matsumeme being one of his best friend, there is a response from him almost thirty seconds after Makki has sent an xD after his meme. Tendou stares at his phone. Matsumeme continues to type a response, until a message pops up and Tendou, Tendou freezes, sure that he’s not meant to see this.
[Today, 2:20am] hermitmakki :
Yo miraclemonster would totally appreciate that meme
Send it to him
[Today, 2:43am] matsumeme:
He would
Ngl i’ve kinda been worried bout our miracle boy lately
[Today, 2:45am] matsumeme :
Like, he’s not acting weird to the rest of u rite?
[Today, 3:00am] hermitmakki :
Pfft, isn’t he always weird tho?
That’s his thing, he’s lit
[Today, 3:00am] matsumeme:
Nah there’s a diff, he’s been quiet with me, like
i don’t wanna make him feel like he can't trust me or be around me
But i don’t wanna hurt him like that
[Today, 3:00am] kodzuken :
I hate to say this but u guys know this is main chat right?
[Today, 3:03am] kodzuken:
I’ll just delete those for you
Tendou’s heart drops to the pit of his chest. He’s mostly confused. What’s Matsumeme talking about? Tendou’s overactive mind whirs back to life from where Tendou had put it to rest over three hours ago. It whispers cruel words in his direction as he scans Matsumeme’s messages again for any sign that he’s gone and upset his friend.
Two seconds later the conversation no longer exists, but the words are already engraved into his mind.
Has he done something wrong?
He had half a mind to message Hermitmakki about what Matsumeme meant but he didn't want to start any drama in the discord server. He likes his friends too much to lose them over a crush that would never be returned anyway.
Putting his phone face down on his chest, Tendou sighs disappointedly. Maybe if he goes back to pretending that he doesn't have feelings for Matsumeme, the guy wouldn't think he's acting weirder than normal. The clock clock on his bedside table ticks over to three thirty, staring back at him intimidatingly. Tendou groans into the emptiness of his room and rolls over to forget the sinking feeling in his chest.
*
The next day, Tendou rolls out of bed just after one in the afternoon, well aware that he looks and feels like trash. He didn’t sleep well after that conversation he witnessed. His eyes are red rimmed and bloodshot, hard to look at in the mirror. On his phone, a message from his work email lets him know he has a deadline due somewhat soon and he’s only recorded about twenty minutes worth of content when he needs thirty. He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, it’s kind of greasy and gross.
He spends a few hours of the afternoon straining his voice to finish off ten minutes of content. Four hours of murmuring into the microphone just to edit down all his recordings to ten minutes. Tendou sighs at his work laptop, eyes heavily lidded as he glances at the door to his studio. The calendar at the back of the door is scribbled over with dates and times. Circled, only a week and a half away, is a reunion with his old teammates.
Wakatoshi and Reon had been the ones to arrange it, a time for everyone to catch up since they haven’t seen each other as a group in close to six months. Eita might help him dye the tips of his hair again if they get bored enough. Tendou pushes away his laptop from him, leaving his editing application open as he notices his phone is blinking.
When he finally gets his phone to recognize his fingerprint, discord pops up, specifically Matsumeme and his direct messages.
[Today, 8:44am] matsumeme:
Hey miracle boy!
[Today, 10:03am] matsumeme:
Yo? up for some games?
[Today, 11:24am] matsumeme:
hey?
[Today, 3:19pm] matsumeme:
You’re worrying me man
You okay?
[Today, 6:02pm] matsumeme:
Miracle boy?
Hey can you get back to me I’m really worried about you
And Tendou doesn’t know how to feel about the messages he’s received throughout the day from Matsumeme, because it's not necessarily out of character, but Matsumeme has never messaged him repeatedly over a whole day because he was worried.
[Today, 6:25pm] miraclemonster:
Hey
Sorry i was behind on a work deadline
I’m not really feeling up for games, i’m exhausted
I’ll let u know when i am
[Today, 6:26pm] matsumeme:
Hey!
Don’t worry about the games, are you okay? Did something happen with work?
[Today, 6:26pm] miraclemonster:
No really meme boy, I’m fine
[Today, 6:26pm] matsumeme:
If you say so man, just know i’m here for you,
Whatever u need!
Tendou brushes his thumb over the words on his screen. His stomach clenches, most likely out of anxiety as he glances at the time. It’s not too late, and Matsumeme doesn’t usually have dinner unless someone prompts him too.
[Today, 6:29pm] miraclemonster:
Did you wanna sit in a call while i order some takeout and lay on the couch?’
[Today, 6:30pm] matsumeme:
u sure ur up for that ?
I dont want u getting sick
[Today, 6:30pm] miraclemonster:
awh, u do care
But yeah, ngl, feelin’ kinda lonely n leopold only does so much.
Said gecko seems to know what he’s talking about when Tendou then peers into the gecko enclosure that is on display next to his setup. Leopold the leopard gecko stares back at him knowingly slowly waving his tail back and forth.
“Don’t look at me like that Leopold.” Leopold stares back at him with wide eyes, seeing right through Tendou’s soul. Tendou mutters, opening up a delivery app instead. By the time he’s placed his order, his phone rings.
“Hey.” Matsumeme greets him. Tendou shuffles over to the small couch he has in his apartment, crossing his feet underneath him as he gets comfortable on the cushions.
“Hey, you sound tired.”
“I am.” Tendou stifles a yawn behind his hand before he rests his phone on the pillow he’s leaning on.
*
By the time that Tendou makes it down to Sendai to meet up with the rest of his team, Matsumeme has only messaged him fourteen times collectively in the last week and a half. He assumes it has something to do with their conversation all those nights ago over the phone, where Tendou was slowly burning out without realizing it and was exhausted.
He misses Matsumeme.
The restaurant they meet up for lunch at is a ramen place in the Aoba ward. Ushijima had found it when he deviated from a school run. Then he brought Tendou to the place, and slowly the Shiratorizawa members had found themselves another hangout that they did their best to meet at once they graduated high school.
Tsutomu bowls him over the moment he walks through the door, and he’s never been more grateful that he’s gone to the gym just to take some nice selfies-and thirst traps-for his social media, because he catches Tsutomu and barely stumbles back from the force of a six-foot one wing spiker who’s filled out since high school.
“Tsutomu!” Tendou ruffles his hair. Gone is the dark bowl cut that was similar to Tendou’s childhood haircut, instead Goshiki has dark, sharp bangs that are side swept over an eye, not by much though. He regularly pushes them out of his eyes and when they get irritating, he pulls back his slightly longer and shaggier hair into a barely-there ponytail.
Tendou feels fondness growing in his chest as he hugs Tsutomu once more before he bestows Semi with the worst hug imaginable, one that’s worthy of his other second best friend. Yamagata compliments him on how soft his hair looks like it is, down and grown out a little longer and not a bowl cut. Shirabu says he’s proud of Tendou making it into a reboot of an anime he watched as a kid.
Reon does that firm dad smile that he’s been giving them since third year and claps him on the back with a hearty laugh, while he tells Tendou he’s glad he’s doing well. His anxiety from the past week and a half of radio silence and accidental isolation melts when he’s surrounded by his team, his family .
Ushijima is the only one he trusts about his crush on Matsumeme and that’s only because Waka-chan would never disclose that kind of information, let alone that Tendou is interested in someone. Maybe Tendou is happiest when he wraps his arms around Ushijima and his best friend hugs him back (and the hug hasn’t changed a bit for the last eight years and Tendou melts a little bit from it).
Ramen is a comfortable affair, they pile into a booth together that still needs an extra table added because there’s eight of them and Reon and Wakatoshi really have filled out with their gym routines. Kawanishi’s legs are longer than ever, Tsutomu’s shoulders and chest are wider than they were in their third year and Eita’s shoulders have gotten broader since Tendou last saw him, but they squeeze in together, side by side and start to exchange their stories while looking between the menu.
To say that he ends up inhaling his ramen when it gets to the table despite how damn spicy he orders it is an understatement. Eita has to pound on his back when he inhales a chilli flake and it sticks to the back of his throat and prompts a coughing fit. Shirabu cackles from the other side of the table, dodging a stray chopstick that Tendou then launches at him for laughing at his senior-they’ve graduated but Tendou will never let it go.
With his friends by his side, Tendou forgets the lack of messages from a teal and black profile picture and enjoys himself.
He’s laughing while slinging an arm over Reon’s shoulder when he sees him . A familiar head of dark hair leaves the bakery just one shop down from where the team is unintentionally filling up the footpath. Matsumeme runs a hand through his hair, smiling with the pink-haired guy that’s always in his photos. Tendou thinks it’s Hermitmakki, it might also be the Alienfucker guy that Matsumeme describes as his other best friend.
Matsumeme slings an arm around the pink-haired guy and leans in, way too close to be just a platonic side hug. Tendou turns his head away when his heart stings in his chest and catches Ushijima watching him carefully. His best friend tilts his head to look at him. Ushijima’s eyes have always been piercing in a way, while he did miss some social queues, though not on purpose, he always had a way of noticing if Tendou was feeling off.
Semi mutters something that splits Tendou’s attention before the rest of the old team pockets their wallets and agrees to move on from where they’re standing outside the restaurant.
They end up walking to a park, where there’s enough room to sit on the grass with each other and talk about all the things they’ve been up to. Tendou leans on his arms in between Eita and Wakatoshi, sprawling his long legs on the grass.
[Today, 4:30pm] matsumeme:
Hey miracle boy, wanna q today?
[Today, 4:30pm] miraclemonster:
Nah can’t, back in Sendai for the weekend.
Visiting friends
[Today, 4:31pm] matsumeme:
Fr???
Yo we could totally meet up if you wanted?
[Today, 4:31pm] miraclemonster:
Idk man,
[Today, 4:31pm] matsumeme:
Nah it’s totally fine
Fr, i wanna meet u
[Today, 4:32pm] miraclemonster:
u sure?
[Today, 4:32pm] matsumeme:
It’d be a great idea
“Satori? Who is looking after Leopold while you’re away?” Wakatoshi asks from his left. Tendou glances up from his phone to see Wakatoshi staring back at him.
“I gave the blonde next door a spare key. Yacchan really likes visiting him so she offered to come in and feed him.” Tendou smiles as he turns his phone over in his hand. “Did you want to see some photos I took of him before I left?”
“Please?” Tendou chuckles as he leans over to show Wakatoshi a picture of Leopold dressed up in a vest.
“He looks very well dressed.” Wakatoshi says with a smile.
“Aye lemme see Satori.” Hayato leans forward on his palms across the group to take a look. “Is he a dapper boy?”
“He’s the best boy!” Tendou grins.
[Today, 4:41pm] matsumeme:
Hey miracle boy, there’s a park that we can meet up at?
Like after dinner
If you wanted
[Today, 4:43pm] miraclemonster:
Alright, 7pm?
[Today, 4:43pm] matsumeme:
Sure c:
“Your phone’s been buzzing a lot Tendou-senpai!” Tsutomu points out when Tendou and Yamagata sit back down in their respective spots in their little Shiratorizawa circle.
“I bet it’s his overwatch server isn’t it?” Eita teases, knocking his shoulder against Tendou. “You play that game way too much, when are you gonna get out there and meet someone?”
“Just because you and Taichi have moved in together does not mean there is any rush for Satori to settle down.” Wakatoshi chides gently, although when Tendou turns to thank him Wakatoshi shoots him a knowing look.
“Nah I’m just, meeting up with one of the guys cause he lives down here.” Tendou says with a shrug. “I mean it’s been like two years since we met.”
“You’re meeting up with a stranger on the internet?” Shirabu says flatly, raising an eyebrow towards Tendou.
“Did you want to accompany me Kenjirou-kun? Are you worried about me?” Tendou teases his underclassman while reaching out to ruffle his hair. Shirabu dodges Tendou’s hand while shaking his head.
“If you get stabbed by some catfish…”
“I’ll be fine Kenjirou-kun. I follow him on insta, it’s fine.”
“What’s he look like?” Semi nudges him.
Tendou pulls up a selfie of Matsumeme with his cat and shows it to the rest of his friends.
“Not bad.”
“So will you be coming home after meeting with this friend?” Wakatoshi asks. It earns a snort from Taichi and Eita.
Tendou can’t help the blush that covers his cheek when he puts his phone away. The gentle ribbing of his friends reminds him of his crush on Matsumeme but in a fond way.
“Yeah, it’s a first time thing Waka.”
From there their conversation drifts into other topics, from Taichi and Eita’s relationship, to how Kenjirou’s last year of med school is going. Eventually, when the sun starts to set and they split off to start walking home.
“Kenjirou has his concerns, but please let me know when you arrive where you are meeting your friend.” Wakatoshi says as they reach the street they have to split at. There’s a couple blocks away from Wakatoshi’s apartment, where Tendou will be staying for the rest of the weekend.
“Of course Toshi.” Wakatoshi gives him a soft smile, reaching out to touch the side of his arm gently. “I’ll see you later okay? Don’t worry about me Wakatoshi-kun!” Tendou says cheerfully. Wakatoshi gives him a look, the same one that portrays how incredibly fond he is of Tendou.
*
After Matsumeme sends him his location on Google maps, Tendou walks the last ten minutes towards a park that's relatively close to the Aoba Johsai highschool. Seijoh looks the same as ever despite eight years of staying away from the place. The park Matsumeme had mentioned is just a few hundred meters away from it. Less than two minutes from the front of the school gates actually.
There's someone sitting on the swings in the otherwise empty park when Tendou gets there, with the hood from his gifted hoodie pulled over his head. The figure on the swing kicks his feet back and forth. His chest is illuminated by the glow of his phone that's in his lap as the sky slowly darkens above them.
Tendou deliberately shuffles his feet across the grass when he gets closer to the swings. The guy on the swings looks up and at first, Tendou is taken aback by how messy and curly Matsumeme's hair is in person. His eyes are sharper too, Tendou feels them tracking each one of his movements as he gets close enough.
"Hey." Matsumeme greets, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket. "That didn't take you long?"
"Yeah, a friend of mine lives nearby." Tendou shrugs. "I'm staying with him for the weekend." He reaches the side of the swing, standing next to Matsumeme as he rocks the swing back and forth. Tendou feels a little bit awkward as he takes in the curly mop on the top of Matsumeme's head.
"So uh." Matsumeme starts slowly.
“Why the park?” Tendou asks, used to awkward interactions. Videogames kinda prepare you for meeting strangers.
“Grew up with it.” Matsumeme instantly responds. “Besides, my best friends and I used to play volleyball here on weekends sometimes if the gym was closed.”
“You played too?” Tendou sits himself down on the swing next to Matsumeme. Matsumeme smiles at that, lifting his head the turn and look at Tendou.
“Yeah.” He nods towards the school gates in the distance. “My old high school.” Tendou glances over at the school carefully. He doesn’t remember much of Aoba Johsai, except for their setter Oikawa because Wakatoshi was obsessed with him and their Ace Iwaizumi, who Wakatoshi was obsessed with by default because it was the reason that Oikawa wouldn’t join their school, but as he wracks his head he can’t really place Matsumeme on the team. He remembers a guy with light brown hair, the angry blonde-haired feral kid, and the shitty middle blocker that always used to rotate up against him and get on his nerves,
Tendou does a double-take, whipping his head back to Matsumeme and carefully scans his face.
“So did you play in highschool?” Matsumeme asks. He doesn’t show any signs of recognizing Tendou, despite his trademarked ruby red hair and genetically mutant crimson irises.
“Yeah I did.” An ugly feeling starts to curl in his chest. His three years of highschool was rich in rivalries, but the one that turned bitter and sour was the one he had against Aoba Johsai’s middle blocker. “I was a middle blocker actually.” Tendou fiddles with his fingers. He’s starting to feel warm, despite his hoodie, and he turns away to look down at his feet as he kicks at the sand patch underneath his swing.
“Yeah? For what school?” Matsumeme’s voice is filled with interest. Tendou’s heart is pounding too loudly in his ears, it’s all he can hear. If Matsumeme really is Seijoh’s middle blocker he doesn’t know what kind of reaction he’s going to get from him.
“Shiratorizawa.” Tendou answers quietly. Tendou squeezes his eyes shut, awaiting a response.
When he doesn’t get one right away, he finds the courage to sneak a peek at Matsumeme next to him.
“What the fuck?” Matsumeme is staring at him. His mouth is turned down in a frown and his eyebrows are probably the angriest eyebrows Tendou has ever seen. “What the fuck? Is this some kind of joke?”
“What? No!”
Matsumeme is off the swing in an instant, taking a couple of steps away from Tendou. “No. No way. This has to be a prank. Did Oikawa put you up to this?”
Tendou furrows his brow, standing up as well from his swing. “Of course not! Why would I ever do a favour for Oikawa?” He argues. Conflicted, he crosses his arms over his chest. Matsumeme takes another step back.
“So what? All of this was an elaborate ploy to be even more of an asshole to me? Three years of tormenting one Matsukawa Issei across the net wasn’t satisfying.” Matsumeme growled. “So hunting me down of the internet was the next best thing?”
“You seriously think I’d do that?” Tendou snaps. “For real? You’d think I’d your friend over a fucking video game for two years just to surprise you in real life and say ‘you’ve been pranked’!” Tendou squeezes his arms tighter around his chest. His heart is pounding rapidly in his throat. “I didn’t even recognize you from your fucking selfies. I didn’t even remember anything about all of that.”
“Why else would you!”
“Because we’re friends? Because you put up with my bullshit and we got along and you made me a stupid get well soon present when no one else could help me out!” Tendou yells, shifting his weight back and forth. “Because I liked you?!”
“You what?” Matsukawa let out a shocked gasp.
“Because I liked hanging out with you!” Tendou hastily corrected. He chewed on his bottom lip anxiously, eyes flicking around the park until he remembered which way it was to get out. He took another step back, away from Matsukawa, itching to end the conversation. “Forget it, I’m sorry about highschool.”
Tendou turned on his heel as fast as he could and just barely held himself back from sprinting out of the park like a maniac. His heart is still pounding in his chest, just shy of jumping back into his throat and making him feel like vomiting. This was humiliation, worse than losing to Karasuno all those years ago, worse than when he admitted to Wakatoshi that he was in love with some random stranger on the internet.
It made him feel like trash.
“Wait!” Matsukawa called from behind him. Tendou quickened his pace by a fraction. “Seriously! Tendou just wait!”
Startled by the use of his name, Tendou stumbles over a section of uneven sidewalk, almost falling flat on his face in the process. He’s stopped by Matsukawa latching onto his arm and steadying him.
“Just let me leave, fuck! ” Tendou choked, turning his face away to hide the fact that his eyes were starting to burn. “I won’t bother you, just-”
“Wait! Seriously. I-”
Tendou tugged his hand out of Matsukawa’s grip.
“What do you want? You already think I’m a liar.” Tendou crossed his arms over his chest.
“Did you mean it?” Matsukawa asks firmly, reaching out to cup the side of Tendou’s face to try and turn it towards him. Tendou shakes himself out of Matsukawa’s grip.
“What? That I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know? Because I fucking didn’t so can I just g-”
“No!” Matsukawa interrupts him, practically shouting as he does so. Tendou freezes, waiting for him to say something else. “No, that’s not what I meant.” He repeats in a softer voice. Tendou’s heart is back in his throat
“Did you mean it when you said you liked me?”
“I’m sorry.” Tendou apologizes, squeezing his eyes shut once more. Matsukawa reaches out a second time, and this time Tendou doesn’t pull away from him when he cups his cheek.
“Is that a yes?”
Worried about what will come out of his mouth if he speaks again, Tendou nods his agreement. The hand on his cheek softens, and Matsukawa rubs his thumb gently over Tendou’s cheekbone. It’s then that Tendou realizes his cheeks are damp, crying anyway on the street next to random ass park with Matsukawa standing in front of him.
“So… you like me?” Matsukawa asks.
Tendou thinks he might be hallucinating the hope that’s in Matsukawa’s voice.
He nods again.
“That’s good.” Matsukawa says vaguely, like one of those shitty cryptic npc’s from a video game. “Cause I kinda got a crush on you.” Tendou’s jaw drops. “Like, about a month before I sent you that care package with my hoodie.” He adds.
Tendou chews on his bottom lip, only to have Matsukawa pull his lip out from between his teeth with his thumb.
“I’m not dreaming?” Tendou asks before he can catch himself.
Matsukawa laughs and takes a step closer. “No miracle boy. You aren’t.”
Matsukawa’s kiss is as gentle as his gameplay, which is to say, it isn’t, but Tendou can feel that he means it when he slots their lips together. The hand on his cheek doesn’t leave, but Matsukawa wraps his other arm firmly around Tendou’s waist and tugs him closer until there’s barely an inch of space between them.
“So? As good as you dreamed of?” Matsukawa teases when he pulls away, his lips are pinker, bottom lip slightly more plump. Tendou grins, willing to give as good as he gets.
“I don’t know, I think I’ll have to try again.”