Work Text:
“Do you ever stop working?”
Atsumu’s brows pinched together, forming a frown upon his face.
Atsumu worked hard. Because that’s the only thing he knew.
He had always been a hardworker, but ever since Osamu left their combined dream and turned the duo into a solo act- things had shifted.
Atsumu had always held a hunger for the sport which Osamu never achieved himself, there had just been that natural affinity for it which Osamu lacked.
It was in the way where Osamu found volleyball fun, but Atsumu found himself seeing it as a necessity. It was the need to be on the court in a way that just was more extreme.
It came with the way Atsumu’s world orbited around the sport, whereas if he didn’t do it he would talk about it. And if he wasn’t talking about it- he was thinking about ways to improve. He would go to bed if only to get up in the midst of night to write down a technique that popped into his mind.
Osamu learnt to sleep through those nights, realizing early on that there was no changing the way his twin simply worked .
When Osamu left, Atsumu found himself only becoming more fixated with the sport. Doing it made him feel good, he had done it his whole life and would do so until the day he died.
When people questioned what he did to relax, he would answer volleyball, and when people on top of that asked if he took breaks, he would meet them with confusion.
What break was necessary when the way he relaxed was volleyball?
It was real simple really. People around Atsumu weren’t around him for his personality persay, more the success he brought with him. Fans awed at his hunger and prestige as he entered the major leagues straight from graduation.
Atsumu got praised for being good, so he kept working hard because it was fun being good at something, and there would always be room to improve.
Your value depends on your success, at least in Atsumu’s mind.
This didn’t apply to others around him though, considering he could only control himself and his own actions. He worked until he ached, pushing himself to get better and smarter. If he lacked in a aspect, he practiced it until he got good. Not because anyone made him to but because he liked getting better .
Yet there were instances of irritation and frustration. He was frustrated if others slacked or didn’t care the way he did, because how could they not?
He could not understand, and he disliked what he couldn’t recognize in himself.
What was worse were those who had success handed upon a silver platter, those who barely cared yet still was better .
It felt as if they spit on his hardwork somehow, as if they offended him personally. Same was with the act of quitting- seeing as the concept of Atsumu was more foreign to him in a literal sense. There was only the option to get back up and retrying, no matter how hard it got, giving up was genuinely not an option in Atsumu’s mind.
Atsumu was frequently praised for his efforts in his life, there wasn’t often someone gave him shit about slacking like he did to others. That was something he took pride in, knowing he was good enough that no criticism could be found considering how hard he worked for it to be that way.
Osamu was never able to relate, neither to the insistence to persist nor the inability to quit. Which would explain the chaos which followed his exit from the volleyball life.
It had been hard for Atsumu, because it involved a sudden change, even when told beforehand- it Involved quitting which he couldn’t understand-
And that was what tore him apart the most, the fact he couldn’t- no matter how hard he tried- understand how this could be a possibility of events. It was as if his mind didn’t want to process the facts, as it they couldn’t. Because to Atsumu it was impossible, yet here they were.
But with time he had managed to come to terms with it, in the sense where he accepted the situation rather than understanding.
He would love his brother, no matter what. Even when he could not relate to the fact that Atsumu himself appeared to love volleyball a smidge more.
“Do you do anything aside from Volleyball even.” Sakusa had asked him during the training camp, throwing Atsumu for a loop. It was obvious no?
“What else is there to do?” He asked without missing a beat.
To him, it was clear. He loved and breathed volleyball, why would he need anything else? What else was there to do .
When he didn’t play, he thought of ways to improve. When he ate he was watching recordings of past matches, analyzing what can be improved, what can be better . When he went to bed, he was restless, only way to force himself to sleep was the motivation of getting to try out new things in volleyball in the morning.
Why would anything else matter?
He adored the praise, never wishing for it to come to a stop. Though Atsumu also wanted to improve, wanting input from his teammates if he does mess up so he can correct it. So he can perfect it .
“You’re on the spectrum and have ADHD.”
Atsumu blinked, no clue what those things entailed until the person told him. They told him he had hyperfixations, how he struggled socially and how he found it hard to concentrate on interests not involving the sport he loved.
“But-“ he tried, perplexed, “Everyone is that way no?”
Everyone doesn’t work that way actually.
Atsumu had not understood, not in the ways of hearing a foreign language but in the way where he simply couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that other’s world worked differently from Atsumu’s.
You work differently than others.
22:21
Atsumu is wandering towards his bed, looking to his nightstand where he spots his water bottle, Right, need to fill that. Taking the bottle he moved to the kitchen, starting to fill it as he turns and sees a glass standing on the counter, I should take care of that .
Turning off the water he moves to pick up the glass, putting it in its right place before he returns to the bottle filled with water, oh right, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet .
Atsumu walks away, moving into the bathroom and starting to brush his teeth, it was annoying when he was so brain scattered so far into the day when his medication was wearing off.
22:34
Right, he should put out the medication so he won’t forget it in the morning when he’s going to practice. He’s going to work on a quick with Omi tomorrow, he thinks this as he’s wandered out to the kitchen after finishing brushing his teeth, he finds the water bottle in the sink, right- the water.
Taking the water, he wanders back to his bed room, putting it down on the nightstand only to still.
Why was he in the kitchen again?
He frowns at himself, pressing his thumb in a clenched fist against his forehead and squeezing his eyes shut trying to recall. What was I doing earlier? I walked out of the bathroom-
Did he brush his teeth? He should check.
22:40
Wandering out in the kitchen, he’s about to go to the bathroom when he stares at a cabinet. Medication . Snapping his fingers in triumph, he saunters over to the cabinet, he was of course getting medication so he can work on that quick tomorrow-
Suddenly, it is as if a lightning hits him, his eyes widening as without hesitation he lunges for his note book, looking around wildly while chanting “pen, pen, pen-“
Shit he can’t forget this! He has to write it down before he does.
He rummages the cabinets in a panic, looking for his ink pen, where is it??
Atsumu finds a pen, just the wrong one, frustration is welling up at being torn between writing down anyway as to getting his special pen.
Fuck he’s gonna forget.
He basically throws himself at the notebook, scribbling down kanji so fast that it’s barely comprehensible. He feels glee rising within him, giddieness welling up that always comes to him when he’s in a hyper fixated state like this-
Ah- he’s in a hyper focused state isn’t he?
He was meant to head to bed at 22:00. His head turns, finding the numbers blink in 22:56. Huh. Once again his brows furrow, he was meant to do something here. Like-
Like,Like,Like-
“Medication.” He whispers, scurrying over and finally getting the medication out, placing it right on his notes so that he can’t miss it in the morning.
Putting the hands on his hips he sighs. He had a routine of setting alarms in his phone for reminders throughout his day, although he still at times forgot to set the things to help him not forget.
He puts himself to bed at 23:02
He stares out into the darkness. He tries emptying his mind, then he’s reaching over for his phone again to type out something new he thought of.
During his time with the Black Jackdals, he worked harder than ever, only using the affirmative words of his hard work as motivation to work even harder.
Sakusa Kiyoomi
For some reason Atsumu was drawn to the man from the start, the moment he laid eyes on him all the way back at training camp.
It was the way he never appeared to tire or loose interest when Atsumu spoke, never did he switch subject that would have Atsumu losing interest instantly.
So he might like Sakusa a little. But more than anything, Atsumu as usual had an unjustified grudge.
It was an odd sense of grudge which he could not justify which originated from his inability to understand. To him, you went straight to pro the moment you graduated, were you actually committed if you went to college. Atsumu had been still sore from the reveal of Osamu quitting volleyball, meaning it stung harder than it should’ve when he found out Sakusa would be only joining Atsumu after finishing college.
As said- he liked speaking to Sakusa despite the underlying grudge, he never hushed Atsumu and was overall pleasant to be around.
He didn’t beat around the bush which was good, never did he hint on things or expect Atsumu to read between the lines in any capacity.
Atsumu was even comfortable unmasking around him for the times when they had team outings. So to say his feelings were conflicted at best was an understatement.
But with the arrival of Sakusa, a new fire awoke within him, a motivation to surpass and compete with the man akin to when he had done so with Osamu.
Atsumu wanted to be better than someone who skipped out on improving for a moment of time. It fueled his want to push himself even further.
How good was really he if he was bested by someone who didn’t work as hard as himself?
He found himself thinking of just that entering a practice game, fired up and blood pumping in excitement.
His eyes locked onto a ball coming his way. If he slacked just for a moment, then he would surely fall behind.
Lose edge and you’ll fall behind
Atsumu sprints up. As he lands-
Lose edge.
He’s landing at an odd angle-
And you’ll fall.
The crash to the ground is a dramatic one, the type that has everyone fall quiet to a bloodcurling yell of pain. It’s the type where the sound of you hitting the ground seems to echo in your mind, spelling out the words you’re fucked .
Atsumu, is fucked .
Everything is suffocating him, the pain making his breathing shallow. Movements immense around him, yet he wishes they didn’t
The pain was overwhelming, yet what was more alarming in hid mind was the fear that this would set him back.
What if I won’t play volleyball again.
I can’t get hurt like this-
I can’t be forced to quit volleyball.
What if I can’t play now?
Quickly his senses were becoming fuzzy and too sharp at once. With his focus snapped, every sensation seemed to grow tenfold. The lights were too bright- someone shouted to loud at the side that had him wanting to cover his ears- but he couldn’t do that because his hands were occupied- too many steps were rapidly approaching him at a speed he was not ready to meet-
He wanted everything to disappear, there was nowhere to go from the assault of sensations.
Atsumu was so desperate to reassure the people around that he was actually fine, everything was fine . For once it wasn’t hard seeing the other’s doubt. It probably looked worse than it was. He didn’t need to step aside. He could still do this-
Everyone but Sakusa had approached, the others trying to offer their help only to have Atsumu refuse.
“Atsumu this is serious-“
“Nah it’s fine, just let it be.” He dismissed the concern with an underlying sense of panic rising in his chest.
Meian had drawn a deep breath, “Forgive us for this but you leave us no choice.”
Atsumu’s brows had furrowed, question resting upon his tongue when suddenly he was hauled up by Bokuto, causing a wail of pain to escape Atsumu as his leg jostled and he struggled.
“Bokuto put me down! I’m fine !”
“I’m sorry- I’m sorry ‘tsum tsum” Bokuto whispered apologetically as he hurried out of the gym ignoring Atsumu’s anguished protests of panic.
Maybe Atsumu was aware that he was being unreasonable, but in that moment admitting that he was hurt was as if making the situation real.
He found himself sitting in the hospital, a blank look in his eye.
His foot was wrapped up in a cast, hanging high as if taunting him. He felt himself slowly processing the situation, and with that the overwhelming dread.
The sheets were too hot . The clothing was itchy . His toe was twitching. The head fan kept stuttering every rotation- a bird was singing outside- the smell was weird -
“I want to go home.” He croaked quietly, feeling tears of stress slip down his cheeks that made them sticky.
His teammates had come to visit him, at which Atsumu met them with resistance, still angry at them as if his situation was because of them. Of course, the logical part of him knew they meant no ill intent by their actions.
But listening to logic was hard when your emotions did not abide by laws of logic. Because now he was at a strange place with strange food and strange people and Atsumu couldn’t even do anything.
Then a day came when a visitor entered the room, of which he expected to be Bokuto, only Bokuto was never this quiet.
Opening his eyes gold met onyx, as Sakusa was the person standing in the doorway, expression unreadable as always. Mixed emotions welled up inside him all at once. A part of Atsumu was relieved to see the only teammate who did not owe Atsumu an apology. Another part was happy to find the person who he could be most relaxed around. And a small part of him felt annoyance.
Atsumu held a dislike for those he could not read. The quiet types ended up often pissing him off more so than not because he just didn’t know what they thought.
That’s why he didn’t get along with Sakusa on paper.
He never could tell what went through the man’s head on a normal day, and with covering up half of his face searching for tell tale signs was even more of a difficult matter. He couldn’t know if the raised eyebrows meant he was happy or angry- and the wrinkle of his cute nose might’ve been as likely a smile as a frown.
More often than not Atsumu could deal with ignoring the anxiety which crept in his mind around the man, so afraid to insult the man and never knowing.
It all reminded him of when Osamu had explained to Atsumu what different eye movements meant.
“And this-“ Osamu flicks his eye to the side, cocking his brow before looking back at Atsumu who leant forward in enthusiasm as he recognized it, “Oh! Hanaka-San does that one all the time! That’s a good one ya?”
Osamu had looked at Atsumu, slumping his shoulders as he admitted, “It usually means something along the lines of ‘you believe this guy?’”
Atsumu shifted in place, confused frown on his face, “That’s positive right? You told me it can be good..”
“Not this time.”
It had felt like a punch to the gut, realizing moments he believed to be happy and fun his supposed friend had basically said he was annoying- to his face nonetheless.
He avoided mentioning his diagnosis afterwards in hopes to avoid people making signs which would fly past him.
He liked Sakusa quite a bit, and he wanted it to go both ways. But he would never know, because Sakusa could very well be Atsumu’s best friend with subtle deeper feelings while the other in reality just thought of Atsumu as annoying without ever voicing it.
There would always be moments where he would start to doubt the genuinity of the smiles to his jokes and the expressions made around him.
Atsumu also disliked convoluted jokes. He recalls one time attempting to join in
A friend had said “No girl wanted you so that’s why you’re gay.” Which was a joke that Atsumu chuckled along too because that’s what the others did, even when the joke was barely a joke in Atsumu’s opinion.
He had thought through it well, so he retorted with “At least someone wants me .”
The room had gone silent suddenly, everyone looking at Atsumu with a frown. Something wrong had obviously occurred, and yet Atsumu was distressingly oblivious to it.
“What?” Atsumu had asked in confusion, smiling sheepishly as he was met with frowns.
“Too far man, what was that for?” A voice had reprimanded him in a disappointed tone.
What?
Apparently, the person had broken up recently meaning Atsumu had been insensitive. But nobody told him that, did that mean you couldn’t make the ‘joke’ to anyone who broke up? Why was it okay when the other jokes about Atsumu being unwanted yet the Moment Atsumu did basically the same IT was mean?
Both jokes very basically the same weren’t they? Neither was particularly funny after all as it usually went.
Atsumu and Sakusa often bantered, but more often than not Atsumu worried that one say that Atsumu had gone over the line and was insensitive to ignore the obvious signs that had not been so obvious.
So really he would rather Sakusa wasn’t here, because Atsumu had no energy thinking through his words or attempting to decipher the twitches and shapes of Sakusa’s face.
Without greeting, Sakusa simply moved into the room, placing a volleyball at the bed table to Atsumu’s surprise. Upon seeing Atsumu look longingly at the ball, Sakusa opted to instead place it in Atsumu’s lap.
Quietly, Sakusa withdrew, surprising Atsumu again by taking the seat at his side which his brother had occupied hours ago.
“Why are you here?” Atsumu muttered bitterly, eyes focused on the ball in his lap where his hands reached for the ball. His fingers grasped onto the familiar sensation, comfort seeping in as he drew the ball closer to his chest as if attempting to focus on the grounding sensation and block out the others.
When there was no response at his side, he decided to look up, finding Sakusa looking at him. A suspicion crept into his mind, making him scoff in disappointment.
“Here to watch how pathetic I look, unable to do anything?” The words meant to sting, yet he only felt his vulnerable insecurities coming to the surface instead. Even so, Sakusa stiffened in his seat, brows drawn together in a perplexed scowl. Or perhaps it was in annoyance, Atsumu was not able to tell.
“Why would I do that?” The velvety voice questioned, as if unaware somehow of what Atsumu obviously could interpret as negative in their interactions.
“Why wouldn’t you? You dislike me.” Obviously goes unsaid.
A silence hung between the two, Atsumu’s eyes drawing back to focus on the ball in his hands. It centered him enough to keep his voice steady, preventing it to reflect his emotions.
“I never disliked you.”
The words had Atsumu halting in his thoughts, his eyes staring forward in disbelief. His head veered around, snapping in reaction to the obvious lie, “What do you mean you don’t, ya obviously do!”
Sakusa looks at Atsumu in silence, once again having an indecipherable look . It was driving Atsumu insane, feeling so lost talking to someone so unclear.
Atsumu decided then to elaborate on his statement, “You do the eye roll, you do the eye shifty- the ‘you’re dumb’ eyebrows!” Atsumu exclaims, distress clear in his voice at being hinted at being dumb.
Still Sakusa only looked at him with a flux of emotions which were all out if reach for Atsumu to interpret. His head whipped down again to face the ball, seeking comfort as he continued, “Everything ya’ do are signs yer tired of me. I know so cause’ I taught myself to notice,”
He continued: “It’s stupid cuz’ I like ya and ya don’t like me! Yer the only one not sayin’ I talk too much or gets annoyed by me. You’re an enigma for me and I hate it- Ya listen to me blabber but I know ya don’t actually want ta’ “ cause nobody does goes unspoken.
Tense silence fell over them both, the only sound being Atsumu’s hands rolling the ball in his hands subconsciously. He waits for Sakusa to leave, to scoff and tell him he took long enough to figure it out or try to lie and act oblivious.
Atsumu only turns his gaze when he detects movements at the corner of his eye, seeing as slowly Sakusa takes a finger to his ear, unhooking the mask covering his face and making Atsumu’s eyes widen in surprise.
Atsumu stares as if looking at something alien, because never had he witnessed Sakusa remove his mask for anyone aside from matches.
And his lips aren’t forming a frown like Atsumu thought, but a smile that seemed.. shy almost. He could tell by the soft hue of red dusting the pale cheeks “I know I am a bit hard to read.. because I’m not as expressive like Bokuto and Hinata- you.”
Atsumu’s skeptic frown remained, trying to understand where Sakusa is going with this.
“When I do this,” Sakusa rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips, “I’m not mocking you, just finding you endearing.”
Atsumu blinked owlishly, even if he wanted to deny it- the eye roll had always been with a frown, it was different now apparently with a smile accompanying the eye movements.
“Just because you have difficulty reading me, doesn’t mean I find you dumb. Nobody can particularly well.” Sakusa admitted quietly, as if the admission of something. It had Atsumu’s chest warming up.
That had Atsumu’s skepticism instantly morph into confused surprise, because truly that couldn’t be the case. could it?
He found himself arguing against it- “But Motoya-“
“Has grown up with me, he has learnt what I feel, like you with your twin.” Sakusa calmly interrupted Atsumu in a way that didn’t send his stomach churning as it did normally whenever people shut him down. It always followed with a feeling of embarrassing guilt, realizing he had spoken too much and the rest had gotten bored. This was nothing like that.
He instead focused on the statement, finding himself confused at the implications of him and his twin’s relation “What’s difficult to read with us?”
“Do you hate eachother?” Sakusa asked, sending Atsumu blinking rapidly in amused confusion. “Of course not, why’d you think that?”
“You fight .” Sakusa states. Fair. “ You insult each other.” Okay- “You argue.”
A moment passed before Atsumu shrugged, as if to say ‘I see your point’. To him and his twin it was obvious they cared for each other, never did Atsumu stop to consider that their behavior might send mixed signals from an outside perspective.
Sakusa shifted in his seat, “You might not be able to read most people, I wouldn’t say I’m too good either seeing as I didn’t even realize you thought I disliked you- but those who matter won’t make it a challenge for you to figure out what they feel. They’ll be truthful to you and make it easy for you to figure it out. Sometimes they fail but most times it comes naturally.”
Atsumu stared at Sakusa, at his moles, and even his eyes for a second when realizing the other wasn’t actively trying to initiate eye contact.
“If I disliked you then would I be here?” Sakusa asked, the words were soft, and probably nice. But Atsumu could never be sure, some only sounded nice and then revealed themselves to have just acted. But Sakusa didn’t give of that feeling.
Atsumu shrunk in on himself, giving a soft shrug. “Obviously I can't tell.”
He stared at his feet, foot more precisely. He could sense the dark eyes shift towards the direction of Atsumu’s eyes, as if a silent question. A sharp inhale was made as Atsumu spoke, “I was supposed to do stuff- I don’t like this at all this is not how it’s meant to go I can’t-
There was a lump of anxiety in Atsumu’s throat, one that always appeared when abrupt changes came to pass. He didn’t handle unexpected changes in his routines well, he needed a heads up, a way to adjust and prepare before hand.
Osamu had ended up seeing a handful of times whereas Atsumu would be waiting for hours til a friend would come over as planned, only to crash when abruptly the friend couldn’t. Osamu would then force the two to play video games, sometimes inviting Suna along too.
Only their closest of friends knew Atsumu’s need for planning and routines, how important it was to inform ahead of time for an event diverging in said routine in order for Atsumu to process it before hand.
His head lifted to the ceiling, the back of his head sinking into the pillow that smelt like home that he had Osamu bring. Tears brimmed his eyes, frustration growing at being unable to speak without crying when overwhelmed like this. Trying to keep his voice steady, his words came out quiet and honest- vulnerable, “I feel useless, I hate all of this because I’m unproductive and can’t improve like this which means I’ll fall behind.”
A soft chuckle came from Sakusa’s direction, making Atsumu’s eyes squeeze shut as he simply listened, “I don’t think you even could fall behind.”
He remained quiet, waiting for Sakusa to continue which he ended up doing, “The fact that you worry about it is proof that you won’t. This is your calling, do you really expect yourself to lose interest when it's all you can talk about?”
A wet laugh leaves Atsumu, “You’re better than me.”
“No. Physically prep gaps, but you look at volleyball in a way nobody else does.” Sakusa argued against, earning an unspoken question as Atsumu faces him. “When others grow tired, you keep growing. You wouldn’t let yourself fall behind, because that’s not the way you work.”
There was a movement of hands, Atsumu’s gold snapping toward lithe fingers moving to his own. Sakusa hesitates, removing his gloves slowly before taking hold of Atsumu’s hand.
The touch is attentive and careful, turning the palm up as a thumb brushes over the hardened skin earned from hours of practice. Atsumu can’t breathe for a moment, only starring in fascination at Sakusa’s ministrations.
“Every blister and scratch you’ve earned is proof of your hard work. You made these hands to be fitted for volleyball. And that is something that will continue to be the case.”
Finally, Atsumu meets Sakusa’s gaze, managing to hold it for a few meaningful seconds before refocusing on the snakebite like marks on his forehead. It wasn’t forced, like how teachers tried to coax him into eye contact in the past, rather it was on Atsumu’s terms.
Sakusa’s fingers left Atsumu’s hand, hovering over them waiting for the hand to retract. Yet he remained, wanting to feel the contact again. At the sign of permission, Sakusa’s hand slipped into Atsumu’s “There is ways to improve. Even outside of practicing volleyball. You of all people know that don’t you?”
Atsumu focused on the sensation of warm skin enveloping his own, and for a moment the sensations of comfort were split in two directions. Different to each hand.
“Doesn’t this irk you?” Atsumu asked quietly, “I’ll wash them after, cleanliness is a bit if a thing in here.” Sakusa joked, earning a stifled huff of a laughter from Atsumu.
“I meant to suggest that I bring my laptop next time.” Sakusa continued, snapping Atsumu’s eyes open wide. “If you want.”
“Ya wanna come back?” Atsumu whispered hopefully. Then a soft smile found it’s ways on Sakusa’s lips. “I thought I was clear with my intentions by holding your hand.”
—— ☀︎ ——
Omi came in every single day with a laptop under his arm. At the start, Omi would resign himself to sit at the chair beside the bed, but he was soon prompted to bed buddy status after Atsumu had enough of the careful behavior. The two would sit together at the bed rewatching matches and taking notes, the first time Osamu walked in on them he had choked mid sentence in shock.
Atsumu would be kept busy in ways to improve by Omi, from exercises that only used his hands. They would toss the ball back and forth when the nurses weren’t looking, Atsumu was more than ecstatic learning Omi had a mischievous side to him.
But then again, Atsumu caught on that the man’s tendency to bend the rules was confined to earning Atsumu’s smiles.
The last period of time allowed Atsumu to walk on crutches, which also marked the time when he decided to confess his thoughts and feelings.
“I might like ya” he admitted, red flushing his cheeks at the admission while keeping a bottle of water at his lips as to hide his smile.
Omi looked to Atsumu, giving a forced wide smile that had Atsumu choking on his water.
“What’s that?” Atsumu laughed, watching Kiyoomi huff in annoyance which Atsumu knew to recognize as well meaning.
“I’m trying to be easier to read.”
That was another thing, Atsumu could always count on Kiyoomi being honest with him. Every time something was unclear, Atsumu would ask how Kiyoomi was feeling and he would always be straight forward with his answer.
“Do ya mean that..” Atsumu asked, eyes wide in joy at the thought that the two were meaning the same thing.
“I made it clear, didn’t I? I smiled to say I like you too.” Kiyoomi explained, blushing a little.
“Why is that?” Atsumu asked, genuine in his unsatiated curiosity. “I mean- i can’t imagine having to be around someone who babble non stop.”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t view it as babble.” Kiyoomi hummed, “I like to listen, you like to talk. You speak with such passion about all you do, and you’re so unashamedly yourself which I admire.”
Kiyoomi pushed a strand of hair behind From Atsumu’s face. “You’re kind and accommodating. You started using hand sanitizer every time after my first visit.”
Atsumu’s nose scrunched in amusement, “Of course’ I did, who wouldn’t-“
“Not many.” Kiyoomi interrupted, “But the fact that you think it’s a given is proof of the beautiful person I fell for.”
Atsumu stilled, “ya’ love me?”
Kiyoomi nodded, “yes I’m sure.”
“I didn’t ask-“
“But you were going to.”
Atsumu huffed, and Kiyoomi laughed. “I-“ Atsumu mumbled, “lied before.”
Kiyoomi’s Brow cocked in amusement, it wasn’t mocking because there was a soft smile on the lips, “oh? How so?”
“I don’t like ya back.” Atsumu admitted, “I love ya.”
The kiss pressed to his lips were soft and tender, ready to pull away the moment Atsumu indicated a will to end it. Atsumu wasn’t used to kissing, nor any physical affection. It was something new and different .
Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad with a temporary change in routine.