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The first time it happened, it wasn’t long after Karasuno had finally gotten their ace and their reliable libero back in the team. It was only a day after the practice match of Karasuno Volleyball Club VS Karasuno Neighborhood Association that resulted in Asahi and Nishinoya’s official return. That day, the two of them were so pumped up to catch up after a month’s absence, that they got the team fired up with them.But it seems a month’s absence had taken a toll on one’s ability. More precisely, one’s accuracy.They were on a break when it happened.Although he had left the club for a month, Asahi still had great stamina and he was keen on getting back in shape, so he had asked Suga to help him practice his spiking. The first year—mostly Hinata and Kageyama—were in awe of their senpai’s powerful spikes.But a powerful spike could sometimes be dangerous, especially if it went flying uncontrolled. Especially if it hit someone.And it hit against Nishinoya’s head.
Hard.
“Noya-saaaaaaannn!” Tanaka was the first one to react after everyone inside the gym stopped whatever it was they were doing when they heard the loud slam.When Nishinoya didn’t give so much as a twitch after he fell face first to the ground, the whole team quickly gathered around the young man who was now held by a crying Tanaka.“N-nice kill, Asahi,” Daichi unintentionally joked. He received a punch on the shoulder by Sugawara for his efforts. “This is no time to be joking around, Daichi!” He scolded before turning his attention to Tanaka. “Is he alright, Tanaka?”“Is he even alive?” murmured Tsukishima.“I don’t think so,” replied Yamaguchi without taking his eyes off the dramatic scene.“Noooooo! Noya-senpai, don’t die!” Hinata cried dramatically while joining his bald headed crying senpai on the ground next to the unconscious Nishinoya.Kageyama smacked him on the head, “Of course he won’t, dumbass! Now get off him so Shimizu-senpai and coach can take a look at him.” The setter then pulled the orange head away by the back of his shirt while the latter struggled, still trying to reach for his senpai in tears.It turns out, Hinata and Tanaka were right to worry themselves to tears because Nishinoya wouldn’t wake up.“Alright, Tanaka! Go carry Nishinoya to the nurse’s office, but be careful—”“YES, COACH!” As soon as he was told, Tanaka lifted the limp libero onto his back and started running without looking back.“I SAID BE CAREFUL!” yelled the Coach, but it went unheard. The only source of comfort for them was Takeda-sensei and Kiyoko quickly running after him so they can make sure that Nishinoya was alright.After a few moments, Ukai broke the silence by assuring everyone that everything will be okay — "and no, Nishinoya’s not going to die, Hinata!" — and ordering them to continue today's practice.“Alright guys, you heard the coach! Let’s continue practice!” yelled the captain. They all, except Tsukishima, answered loudly before they resumed practice.“Hey, Daichi?” murmured Sugawara while staring at a lone figure whom he concluded hadn't moved an inch ever since Nishinoya was carried away.“Yeah,” Daichi sweated while mimicking his vice-captain of glancing sideways towards their fellow third year.When Daichi received a loud ‘Yes!’ from the team, he and his Sugawara didn’t really expect one of the members to answer. They slowly approached their frozen best friend, only to find his face white as sheet.“Asahi?”“I killed him, I killed him, I killed him. Oh my God, I killed Nishinoya. I'm the lowest of scums. I killed him, I killed him, I killed him—”  the Ace of Karasuno repeatedly murmured the same sentence over and over again, dead to Daichi and Sugawara’s coaxing. “Yep. He’s dead.”When he opened his eyes, Nishinoya immediately felt pain on the back of his head. The brown eyed boy slowly sat up, he placed his palm against the bed he was in to hold himself up while carefully massaging his aching head with his other hand.He vaguely remembered Daichi’s loud warnings of “Watch out, Nishinoya!”, before feeling intense pain on the back of his head. After that he couldn’t remember anything.“Ugh, what the hell happened?” he groaned.“You got hit by a ball,” The response was so quiet, Nishinoya thought he had imagined it. But then he saw a giant figure hiding behind the curtains of his bed.“Uwah! Asahi-san, you scared me!”Hearing Nishinoya’s scream, Asahi flinched. “I-I’m sorry Noya!”“Geez,” The boy grumbled, “what are you doing here anyway? You should be at practice!” he scolded, making the older of the two flinch again.“Umm, I-I came to check on you. Then the nurse told me to stay here because she had to run for some errand. She, umm, she said she wouldn’t be long, but it’s been a while since she left.” Nishinoya raised an eyebrow when he noticed Asahi avoiding his eyes. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the libero let out a sigh while laying back on the bed.“So you stayed with me to be my bodyguard huh, Asahi-san? My hero~” Despite his pounding head, Nishinoya couldn’t help but tease his friend.“More like your doer.” Asahi mumbled shamefully. “Huh? What was that?”, asked Nishinoya with one eye open. “I couldn’t hear you from all the way there Asahi-san, come closer!”He could see Asahi biting his lips, his face contemplating if he should even be near Nishinoya right now.Noya watched as Asahi ultimately decided it was worth to get closer to him as the older moved to open the curtains wider before closing them again. He then stepped forwards to sit on the chair next to the younger man’s bed.“So I got hit by a ball?”"You got hit by my ball.”“Ahh, so that’s why you sound so guilty.” Asahi flinched for the third time.“I-I’m sorry.” He stuttered, making Nishinoya laugh.“Why are you apologizing? It was an accident, Asahi-san, it’s not like you intended to hit me, right?” At that, Asahi shook his head hard.“Never! But, I’m still sorry.” Nishinoya felt a tick in his already pounding head.“Seriously, Asahi-san, if I hear another apology coming out of you,”“Sor—” “ Asahi-san!”“Yes! A-alright. I’m sor—” Asahi tensed. “I mean, it’s just instincts for me to apologize, you know that” The bearded man looked down, he suddenly found the blanket covering Nishinoya very interesting."Remind me to stop you from apologizing when someone accused you of murder then. Your lawyer wouldn't like that.""When would a scenario like that even happen!?"Nishinoya sighed, ignoring his senpai's outburst. “Man, I seriously don’t know what to do with you. You and your glass heart.” The boy said, not unkindly, while giving Asahi a small smile.Staring at his kouhai’s smile, Asahi's cheeks turned red.“Well anyway, I think I’m going to sleep again.” Normally, Nishinoya would never let an injury keep him from practicing volleyball, but his head was pounding so hard and he felt nauseated. So to avoid coming back to practice only to throw up and getting scolded by Daichi and coach, he would focus on getting better.Before he could close his eyes though, Asahi gave him a glass of water and a pill that the nurse had told Asahi to give to Nishinoya if he woke up before she was back. After he complied, he expected Asahi to stand up and leave, but the bigger man didn’t move.“Asahi-san, you should get back to practice.” Asahi shook his head.“I don’t want to leave you.” Nishinoya frowned in annoyance.“I may be smaller than you, Asahi-san, but I’m okay if you leave me alone. I’m not a baby you know” Asahi shook his head even harder.“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”“Then what?” Nishinoya sat up again, not tearing his gaze from his senpai’s distressed face. “Aha! You’re tired aren’t you? That’s what you get for skipping practice for a month, Asahi-san!” he then crossed his arms while shaking his head with his eyes closed as if thinking. “But you shouldn’t skip anymore practice just ‘cause you’re tired you know, or Daichi-san will have your head.”“T-tthat’s not it either,” The man with the bun murmured, making the boy with the tuft open his eyes and say, “Then what? Well, it’s nothing new but—” at Nishinoya’s change of tone, Asahi looked up to meet his eyes. The boy sighed before continuing, “why are you being like this, Asahi-san?”"Why are you being like this, Asahi-san?"
I thought everything’s okay again. I thought we’re okay. Are you alright? Are you having doubts about the team again? If so then what can I do to fix it?
Asahi swore he could hear Nishinoya asking those questions in his mind. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed Nishinoya’s hands and squeezed them. He could see the boy’s expression turned from worry to shock, his eyes wide with a hint of vulnerability.Nishinoya who was so strong and clever, who was so energetic and confident, and who was so sacrificial and reliable. How could a person like Asahi cause the boy so much suffering because of his own weaknesses and cowardice? Asahi didn't deserve a friend like him.But yesterday at the practice match, Nishinoya had encouraged him again. He had helped him gain the courage he needed to move forward. 
“Call out for a toss once more, ace!”
 Hinata, Kageyama, Daichi and Suga had helped him realize how much he loved and wanted to play volleyball again. But it was Nishinoya who encouraged him to move, to pick himself up and spike that ball. It was thanks to Nishinoya’s save that he could spike Suga's toss again.Nishinoya had helped him in so many ways, and despite Asahi not deserving of any of it, he wanted nothing more than to repay him.He wanted to be the man capable to support and encourage Nishinoya too.“Asahi-san?” Asahi snapped out of his thoughts. He didn’t dare tear his eyes away from Nishinoya’s gaze.Staring at Nishinoya’s eyes, Asahi made a commitment. “I don’t want to leave you again. I will never leave you again.”The older man watched as the younger man’s eyes widen in realization. He watched as Nishinoya began to understand why Asahi was so adamant about his refusal to leave him. And he watched as tears began to form in Nishinoya’s wide, unblinking eyes.Asahi felt Nishinoya’s hands squeezing his as the latter hid his face in Asahi’s chest, lightly knocking his head against it. His could feel his heart breaking when he heard his kouhai sniffled softly, but he stayed quiet.“Asahi-san?” Nishinoya let go of one of Asahi’s hand to grip lightly on the latter’s shirt, as if holding it can keep him from going anywhere.“Yes, Noya?”“Stay with me.” Asahi’s eyes widen for a moment before he relaxed again. He then put his hand on Nishinoya’s back, rubbing it slowly as a sign of comfort while his other hand still held the boy's.“Of course."“Ukai-kun, I’m going to check on Nishinoya-kun again if you don’t mind.” said the messy haired teacher. “Sure, Sensei. Give me an update, yeah?” The blond received a smile and a nod as a response.He’s smiling, but he’s clearly worried about the kid. Ukai watched the older man walked away. He was about to focus back on the team when he heard Hinata’s loud voice.“Sensei! Takeda-sensei!” At Hinata’s call, Takeda paused while in the middle of pulling one of his shoes on. “Hinata-kun? What’s wrong?”“You want to check on Noya-senpai don’t you? Can I come? Please!” Takeda held up his hands, he was caught off guard when the boy suddenly bowed in front of him. He was about to reply but the captain of the volleyball club beat him to it. “Oi Hinata! We’re in the middle of practice!”Hinata tensed and started to sweat. Kageyama scoffed. “You dumbass.”“Shut up, Kageyama!” He turned to Daichi. “I-I’m just worried about Noya-senpai, a-and we’re not having a practice match anyway, so...” Hinata mumbled the last part.Daichi seemed annoyed, but he could understand the middle blocker’s worry. Takeda-sensei, Tanaka and Kiyoko had told them that according to the nurse, Nishinoya was going to be okay, just that he would be having a hell of a headache when he wakes up. He himself was also wondering why Asahi hasn’t come back after seeking his permission to check up on the boy.“So I can focus on practice more, Daichi! You know I can’t calm down without seeing him alright for myself.” Asahi had said about half an hour ago.“Maa, maa. How about we all see him for a bit?” Takeda looked at Ukai for approval.The blond gave a sigh while scratching the back of his neck. “Fine. You guys haven’t been focusing for the last hour anyway. Maybe seeing your teammate alright can get you back in gear.” At that, the team let out a whoop."Don't you dare be noisy, do you hear me?""Yes, Captain!"When they all reached the nurse’s office, Sugawara opened the door. “I’m sure Nishinoya will be happy to see us.”Tsukishima’s mind went back to remembering how loud and hard his small senpai had received that blow to the head. “If he’s even alive.” though he commented quietly, it was still heard by Tanaka.“What’s was that, Tsukishima!?”“Tsukki…” Yamaguchi sweatdropped.“Oi, keep it down!”, bristled Daichi.The team crowded at the door only to find a missing nurse and that one curtain was closed while the others remain opened. Remembering Daichi’s words, they all kept themselves quiet, even Hinata. Again, Sugawara was the first person to reach their destination and when he opened the curtain, they were greeted by a surprising sight.Nishinoya was sleeping on his back with his hand on his stomach while the other was being held in Asahi’s. The latter was in a chair, his position slouched against the bed while his free arm was being used to hold his head as a makeshift pillow. He was also sleeping.“Nice one, Noya-san!” Tanaka grinned while taking a picture on his phone.“How cool, Noya-senpai!”“What’s so cool about that?”“Pfft,” laughed Yamaguchi.“Why you, Tsukishima! Yamaguchi!”“Oi, you’re too loud, idiot!”“They look cute.”“Kiyoko-san thinks they’re cute!?”“Oi, pipe down!”“We should really keep it down guys”, said Kinoshita.“Minna-san, we should go back to practice now—”“But sensei, what about Asahi-san?” Narita asked.“Well—”“They’re back.”At Sugawara’s comment, everyone went quiet.“Suga-san?” It wasn’t just Sugawara. The first years could see that after realizing the meaning of their vice-captain’s words, the senpais have a certain look on their faces; a nostalgic one.“I remember the expression on their faces a month ago.” The mother hen of the team started again.Daichi nodded. “Both of them were so angry at themselves, it was downright frustrating.”Tanaka hummed. “I thought Noya-san looked like he wanted to cry.”“We all wanted to cry, really.” Ennoshita said. 
“Why aren’t you berating me!?”

.
"Don't you dare give up on the shots I've worked so hard to receive!!"
.

"But to just accept defeat so selfishly... That's something I cannot forgive!"
 Staring at the peaceful expression on a sleeping Asahi and Nishinoya, while comparing this scene to the scene that happened a month before, the third and second years didn’t ever want to see them make an expression like that again.In their quietness, the team seemed to make a mutual agreement in their minds.“We won’t let that happen again.” Daichi said with conviction. Around him, his teammates nodded.They now have their reliable ace and libero back.And they will definitely go to the nationals. 🖤🧡

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was almost the end of practice that day.The moon was high up in the sky, but six members of the Karasuno Volleyball Club didn’t seem to care.They were holding a three-on-three game with Nishinoya, Hinata and Kageyama VS Tanaka, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. They were the only people who still have the energy left to play one more game (Yamaguchi didn’t play in the last three games while Tsukishima was forced to do another one by Nishinoya and Tanaka).The remaining second years were sat on the floor cheering for them while also not caring whose team was winning as long as they get to rest. On the far side of the gym, Coach Ukai, Takeda-sensei and Kiyoko were talking, clearly discussing about the team’s growth.Asahi was near the gym’s exit, quietly watching his teammates. With his eyes locked on a particular person, Asahi couldn’t help but think that the person was being weird.And by one person, he meant Nishinoya.“You noticed it too, huh, Asahi?” Asahi froze when a voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It was Sugawara.“D-did I say that out loud?” The grey haired boy raised an eyebrow at his best friend’s stutter.“Yep. So why do you think Nishinoya is acting weird?” Sugawara questioned, his eyes following the boy who was diving to receive a spiked ball.
“Sorry, Noya-senpai! One more, Kageyama!”

“This is the third one, idiot! You better not mess this up!”
“I don’t know, but—he seems to be doing hard.”, said the bearded man while mimicking Sugawara’s movement.“He seems to be doing too hard.” The duo turned around to face the source of the new voice.
“Don’t mind, Tsukki!”

“Damn it, Tsukishima! Put some effort into it!”

“Tsk.”
“What do you mean, Daichi?” The vice-captain eyed his captain who had his arms crossed against his chest.Daichi gave a sigh before answering, “Well, I heard from Tanaka that while the three of us were having that lengthy time of deciding whether we should retire or not, some people were beating themselves up for our loss against Aoba Johsai.”
“Head’s up, Nishinoya-san!”
“You’re talking about Hinata and Kageyama, right?"Daichi stared at Asahi meaningfully, “You and I both know we’re thinking of the same person.”At that, Asahi fixed his gaze towards his kouhai again. He knew for sure now why he thought Nishinoya was odd today: the boy looked so tired, more tired than the rest of them combined and his face was pale. Asahi could see that he was breathing heavily while his body was hunched, his palms were against his knees to keep himself standing.
“Noya-san! Look out!”
The Ace snapped from his thoughts when he saw Nishinoya narrowly dodging a spiked ball, his movement similar to when he had faced Oikawa’s serve.“Out! Nice one, Noya-senpai!” Hinata praised his senpai while running towards him, but as he reached the latter, the decoy’s smile quickly disappeared. “Noya-senpai?”The orange head’s eyes widen when he saw his senpai swayed dangerously. Then, he saw his eyes rolled to the back of his head before he started falling."SENPAI!" Asahi thanked whatever God in his mind for Hinata's reflexes when he saw the orange headed boy manage to catch Nishinoya from falling face first to the floor. Though with Noya’s muscular built and Hinata’s skinny body, the result was unsurprising as the first year landed on his back with his senpai sprawled on top.When the rest of the team concluded that this was serious and not one of Nishinoya and Hinata’s senpai-kouhai antics, they rushed towards them.Tanaka was the first to reach them, not wasting any time to move the limp body of his best friend away from the orange haired boy.“Nishinoya! Hinata! Are you okay!?”“Oi, what happened?”“What did you do, dumbass?”“Stupid Kageyama! Why do you always assume everything’s my fault!?”“Because it usually is!”“ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!” The whole team’s mouth went shut at Daichi’s roar. Sugawara, being the only one unaffected, made haste to check on the boy.“I think he overexerted himself. Somebody, get him a drink!” While Kiyoko ran to fetch it, the mother hen instructed Tanaka to lay Nishinoya on the floor while he took off his jacket to roll it and place it under the unconscious boy’s head. He then ran his hand through Nishinoya’s hair to try and rouse him awake. “Nishinoya! Nishinoya, can you hear me?” The younger man let out a groan, his eyes squinting open while trying to remember what had happened. But when he saw a lot of faces, his dizziness increased.Sensing the boy’s discomfort, Ukai told the other boys surrounding them to give him space. They were about to comply but stopped when they heard Nishinoya’s murmur.“Hi—”“Nishinoya?” The team watched as the feverish boy who was clearly delirious lifted his hand as if reaching for something.“San… Sahi…” Asahi, who was standing behind Sugawara, inched closer to the boy. “Asahi…san… where..?”At the call, Asahi gave into his instincts and grasped Nishinoya’s outstretched hand. The other members of the team can see the libero relaxing when he was aware of Asahi's presence by his side.Everyone’s jaws dropped.“P-P-P-P-PDA!!!!”, thought the rest of the team simultaneously while still keeping their mouth shut. This is not what they thought would happen on a normal practice day.It turns out Sugawara was right when he said Nishinoya had practiced too much. The boy confessed—after drinking a lot of water—that he had been too excited in practicing so he could improve himself and win with everyone at the Spring High Tournament, that he forgot to take care of himself.While holding a water bottle in his hand and scratching the back of his neck with his other one, he sheepishly accepted Daichi and his coach’s angers as well as Sugawara and Takeda-sensei’s lecture. Soon afterwards, however, they had let him off the hook as it was already late and they didn’t want to put a stress on him even more.What Nishinoya didn’t expect though, was to be carried home.“Asahi-san, this really isn’t necessary”, grumbled the boy with the tuft, a blush on either side of his cheeks. The man giving him a piggy-back ride chuckled as a response.“Why are you so keen to get away from me, Noya? You’re the one who was calling my name when you fainted back there.”The libero felt his face flushing even more. “H-hey, you can’t tease me for something I can’t control! I was half-awake then!” His grip on Asahi’s shoulders tightened as a warning.“Alright, alright, sorry." The man with the bun laughed. "But seriously though, I’ve—we’ve watched you pass out two times in the span of three months, Nishinoya. You should take more care of yourself.”“This, coming from the guy who caused me to pass out the first time?” And suddenly, it was Nishinoya who was teasing him again.“That was an accident!” The boy laughed at the taller man’s nervousness.“I know Asahi-san! I’m just teasing you.”It was the last time one of them talked before they were engulfed in silence.“Nishinoya?”“Hmm?” Nishinoya sounded like he was about to fall asleep on his back, but Asahi’s next question woke him up.“Were you... overexerting yourself on purpose?” The younger tensed, and when he didn’t reply, Asahi carried on, “I heard from the others. While Daichi, Suga and I were absent for awhile, you were practicing more than anyone on the team. I think it’s good that you’re committed, but you should also take time to rest. Plus, it hasn't been that long since that difficult match against Seijoh.”Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because Asahi immediately felt a chance in the atmosphere.“...Nishinoya?” When Asahi turned his head to look at the boy who had suddenly went quiet, he felt like punching himself.Nishinoya had a sad expression on his face. Asahi thought back on the last time the boy had such an expression but he couldn’t remember.Looking around, when he spotted a bench, Asahi quickly walked towards it. He gently let Nishinoya down and guided the boy to sit down. Through Asahi’s action, Nishinoya only stared oddly at him in confusion. Blushing, Asahi moved to sit next to the boy before placing a hand on his shoulder.“I-I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’m here if you need to talk.”The libero looked away and whispered with a tremble in his voice that made Asahi's heart clench. “You’re gonna think I’m so lame, Asahi-san.”Asahi squeezed his shoulder. “Never.”Nishinoya’s not lame. He's the opposite of lame. He's cool, dependable, clever and strong.It took him another few moments, and Asahi was nothing if not patient, but eventually Nishinoya bit his lip before opening his mouth again. "I—the reason I was practicing so hard was—was because I was running away,”Not fully expecting that answer, Asahi’s grip on the smaller boy lessened. “Eh?”Nishinoya scratched his head and pulled his hair in frustration. “The match against Seijoh, Asahi-san. We lost. I can’t believe we lost! I was so sure we’d win, I didn’t even think about what would happen if we lost, and we did!”As his underclassman rambled on, Asahi started to think back about the times the members of Karasuno were nervous before every matches against strong teams, all except Nishinoya who was always calm and excited rather than being scared. Even against Date Tech or Aoba Johsai, Nishinoya had looked so strong and fearless, Asahi didn’t even think that of course the boy still had some fear left in him. He just never showed it.He always looked strong for the team, always taking his role as their guardian seriously.Again, Asahi realized that he’d been too dependent on the smaller and younger man when he should be the one to support him.Even though Noya was their guardian, Asahi was still the ace, wasn't he?Noya had claimed time and again that Asahi's role was to lead the team to victory while libero protected the ace. When Noya had said that with so much determination, Asahi couldn’t help agreeing, even though inwardly he had thought, but then who would protect you?And he had forgotten that.Gosh, he’d been such an idiot.“And I know for a fact that third years were supposed to retire after the Interhigh, so I threw myself at practice so I don’t have to think about you leaving—” before Nishinoya spiraled even further, Asahi took him into his arms. He wrapped his arms around Nishinoya's frame tightly, squeezing the boy's face into his chest.Nobody was around. It was quiet and dark with only the moon as a source of light. Both of their hearts were beating so fast, he could hear it.“A-Asahi-san?”“Did you think that after we lost, I would leave again?” Nishinoya tensed but he didn’t say anything.Asahi's arms around Nishinoya tightened. “Did you forget? I said I will never leave you again, didn’t I?”Eventually, Asahi felt a pair of arms circling his torso. He could feel Nishinoya smiling against his chest. “I guess I just need a reminder once in a while.”Accepting the answer, Asahi vowed to remind Nishinoya of this more in the future. He then pulled away to mirror the boy's smile. After that, he went back to carrying Nishinoya and when the brown eyed boy put his arms around his neck, now seemingly at ease, Asahi smiled widely. “Hey, Asahi-san?”“Yes, Noya?” Asahi felt the boy’s arms around his neck tighten ever so lightly before the boy’s next words caught him off guard.“I like you.”Asahi almost dropped Nishinoya out of shock. 🖤🧡

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The third time it happened, it was neither Asahi nor Nishinoya’s fault.Palm trees, ocean breeze, salty air, sun kissed hair, the sound of the waves, bikinis, sand castles, the smell of watermelon and lotion; each describing the place most perfect to spend the summer. That’s right, it’s—“THE SEA!”“It's the sea!""Uwooooooohhh!"“Oi! Behave yourselves!”, scolded the captain of Karasuno Volleyball Club. His two best friends were chuckling beside him, one in amusement while the other a bit nervous.“Yes, Captain!” Tanaka and the others were too happy to be scared of Daichi’s warning, unlike usual. He then turned to his best friend with a grin, “Noya-san! It’s great here, isn’t it? We can go swimming in the ocean, eat yakisoba, watermelon and ice cream, and then swim again!”He expected the libero to return his enthusiasm but he was faced with a serious face.“Ryuu.” Tanaka froze.“Y-yeah?”“Don’t you understand? In front of us is the sea, the place where we can call the 'heaven on earth’. Do you know why?” Tanaka gulped, not in fear, rather in anxiousness as Nishinoya pulled him down by an arm around his neck.Nishinoya’s eyes sparkled. “Three words, Ryuu: Girls. In. Bikinis.”Tanaka’s jaw dropped as he understood. “N-Noya-saaaaannn!!” But Nishinoya didn’t stop there.“Do you understand now, Ryuu?” Tanaka nodded vigorously with excitement. Seeing his best friend finally making a connection, the smaller of the two continued, “But you know what’s far more important, right, Ryuu!?”“Yes, Noya-san!” Only to the Karasuno team’s eyes the two of them seemed on fire.
“We must protect our precious managers at all costs!!”
Then both of them saw the objects of their affections, Kiyoko and Yachi; the first with an uncaring face while the latter was hiding behind the beautiful girl, body language signifying that she was nervous. Nishinoya and Tanaka immediately formed a ‘barrier’ between the two of them and the rest of the world, successfully scaring all the males that dared to look at the two girls even for a mere second.“How unsurprising,” murmured Ennoshita. Kinoshita and Narita sweatdropped while nodding in agreement.“Well, this is a habit of theirs, but I think it’s save for the girls to be protected like that. We don’t know how many men would have the courage to approach them, especially if they’re impolite, ne, Daichi?” Suga smiled at Daichi, making the boy blush.With you half-naked like that, I won’t be surprised if those ‘impolite men’ come on to you. Daichi stared at his partner before quickly glancing away. “R-right,” I won’t let that happen, though.Suga raised an eyebrow at his best friend’s sudden passiveness, but he said nothing. He wasn't one to question the strangeness of the Karasuno members, even if it was the captain.No, wait. Scratch that.Especially if it's the captain, he thought.“Yachi-san? I wanted to thank you again for this opportunity.” said Takeda when the girl had come back with Kiyoko from the bathroom to change.“M-m-me!? No—I mean, yes! You’re welcome! But it’s really thanks to my mother!” she stuttered while thinking back to the events three days ago. 
“I can’t believe this! How dare they!?”

“O-okaa-sama? What’s wrong?”

Madoka growled again before sighing. Her tone went down as she replied to her daughter, but no less angry at whatever was offending her. “My co-worker and I were planning to host a three nights and two days meeting with a bunch of businessmen from Osaka for a new project. But they dared canceled on us at the last second! And we’ve already booked an inn and such, those stupid bastards!”

“P-please calm down, Okaa-sama. If you’re calm enough you can think this through," Yachi was scared, not of her mother, but for her. She knows her mother was a professional, but she’s still human. She could make mistakes too, especially when she wasn’t thinking clearly. Seeing this, Madoka’s heart clenched with affection, her previous anger gone in an instant.

Resisting the urge to hug her daughter until she couldn't breathe, Madoka opted to cross her arms against her chest. “Well, there’s nothing more to think. I’m breaking my contract with them first thing in the morning!”

“A-are you sure you want to do that?”

“Hmph, this was their last chance anyway, those ungrateful male species” Yachi sweatdropped.
“Okaa-sama...”  How sexist, she thought in despair.
“On the other hand, I can’t let the fund for the inn go to waste. Hitoka, how many people are in your club?”

“The volleyball club? Umm, including the coaches and managers, there are… eighteen?”

“And all of you just got back from training camp in Tokyo, correct?”

“Yes?” she stared at her mother’s thinking face in wonder.
Don’t tell me...
Madoka clapped her hand. “Alright, it’s settled! Hitoka, go inform the person in charge of your club of this!”

Yachi tensed and started stuttering nervously again. “A-a-are you sure, Okaa-sama?”

“Yes! I won’t let our money go to waste! Now go, before I change my mind!” At the finality, Yachi bowed and left the room.

“Yes! Okaa-sama!”
 Which brings us to here.“THANK YOU VERY MUCH, YACHI-SAN!” The whole members of Karasuno shouted gratefully (except for Tsukishima and Kageyama whose thanks went unheard) making the blond hold her hands up nervously at the attention.“I-i-it’s nothing! This is all thanks to my mom, really,”Yachi felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. It was Ukai. “Still, it’s nice that we could relax before the spring tournament. And you gave us the chance, Yachi-san.” When Yachi tensed, the older man stared incredulously. “Oi! You seriously haven’t gotten used to me yet!?”“C-calm down, Ukai-kun!” Takeda let out a hesitant laugh and while the male blond waved his hands dejectedly, Yachi continuously apologized.“Here, Hitoka-chan.” The crying girl turned around to find a smiling Kiyoko who offered her a drink.“Arigatou, Kiyoko-senpai.” Yachi murmured while sipping her drink. A second later, she smiled at the taste, promptly forgetting why she was upset in the first place.Staring at the whole scene in front of him, Takeda sighed in relief. “I think this is going to be a nice rest, don’t you think, Ukai-kun?”Ukai, who was now setting up a beach umbrella only murmured as a response. “You got that right, Sensei. I just hope none of them does something stupid, though.”“Something stupid?”“Yeah. Like tearing up a restaurant, or fighting with a bunch of hipsters, or drowning?”At that, the two male adults gulped. They seriously hope no one will drown.Sitting under an umbrella while drinking his water bottle, Kageyama sulked.“My, my, is the King currently unhappy?”Hearing the glee in his teammate’s voice, the setter twitched. “Shut up, Tsukishima.”“I was just wondering,” The middle blocker shrugged and continued, “why did you even come if you’re only going to be sulking all the time?”“Che! I’m not planning to spend three days and two nights like this, you know.” The black haired boy tore his gaze away from the blond. “I just don’t see why we’re not practicing more when the spring tournament is around the corner.”They both went quiet.Until Tsukishima decided to break the silence. “You—really are a volleyball nerd.” Another twitch.“Nice one, Tsukki!”“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”“Why, you, Tsukishimaa...”“Oiiiii! Kageyamaaaa!”Damn it, first these guys, and now this idiot... "What do you want—" Kageyama stopped short when he saw Hinata.At that time, he thought he had never seen Hinata look so appealing, with being half-naked and carrying a volleyball. His right hand was waving at him while his left was holding the wonderful object against his hip.“Hurry up, Kageyama! Come toss for me!”, grinned the orange haired boy excitedly. His smile was practically beating the Sun in terms of brightness.Kageyama wasted no second in standing up and running towards him. “YEAH! BEACH VOLLEYBALL!”It was a two-on-two game with Nishinoya and Tanaka on one team while the other consisted of Kageyama and Hinata. It was the second years VS the first years.
"Small Big Thunder!"
When Nishinoya spiked the ball, the members watching let out a 'whoop!'“Nice kill, Noya-san!”“Not fair!” Hinata whined.“You’ve still got a long way to go if you can’t even receive my spike, Shouyo!” His senpai smiled, not unkindly. “Though it’s been a long time since I spiked like that.”“This is free-style volleyball after all!” Tanaka grinned while putting his hands up to high-five Nishinoya.“Oi! Stop whining and just get the next one, Hinata!”“Right! One more, Tanaka-senpai!”“Ou!”"Ryuu, nice serve!"While the quartet was playing, Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei were each lying down on a bench enjoying the Sun's heat. Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kiyoko and Yachi were chatting under an umbrella while drinking their smoothies and sodas. Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita were in a sand-castle competition and Daichi, Asahi and Suga were talking while occasionally cheering at the boys’ match. Suga then looked at his other best friend who was quiet but was obviously observing someone.“Really, Asahi, could you be more obvious?” The man bun quickly tensed, his face unmistakably red and Suga was sure it wasn't because of the heat.“W-w-what are you talking about?”Suga smirked, “I know you were watching Nishinoya just now. He looks good in those red shorts, I admit, but really?” At the mention of the shorts, which really suited Nishinoya, Asahi’s face flushed even more.“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”“Why don’t you look at me in the eyes and say that again?” Asahi’s eyes widened when he turned back to look at Suga, only to have the setter’s face right in front of him. He let out an ‘eep!’ before shutting his mouth to prevent saying anything else. The staring contest only lasted for five seconds, however, when Daichi came between the two of them.“Alright, knock it off. We’re here to relax and have fun, so don’t stress about Asahi’s miserable love life, Suga.” The captain grumbled before turning his attention to Asahi, who was about to deny everything he said but couldn’t. “And you. Stop being a stalker and just talk to him, will you? Or is there a reason you can’t?”When their best friend went quiet and his face turned even redder, Daichi and Suga had no doubt. Ah. There's a reason he can’t.So the three of them moved to a quieter place and that is under another umbrella which was not far from the coach and the others’ umbrella, but it was far enough so that their conversation couldn’t be heard.“NISHINOYA CONFESSED TO YOU!?”Asahi hoped they couldn’t be heard.“Shush! Shushhh!” He frantically said with his palm against Suga’s mouth and a finger against his own lips, pleading for his best friend to be quiet.“Dude, they can’t hear us anyway.” Daichi leaned back against his elbows, his head pointing towards the still very noisy quartet.“Y-you never know”, mumbled the Ace of Karasuno as he lowered his hand from Suga’s mouth.“Okay, okay. So, Nishinoya confessed to you. Did you confess to him?”“M-me!?” Daichi and Suga raised an eyebrow.“Yes, you! Gosh, Asahi, the poor boy!”“Nishinoya? I’m the poor one! I don’t even know if he really did confess to me!” Asahi rubbed his face with his palm. Seeing their best friend’s frustration, Daichi and Suga decided to approach in a more delicate way.“Alright, alright.” The grey hair patted the brunette’s head. “So he ‘confessed’ to you. When and how did it happen?”“Umm, well. It was when he passed out back then at practice.”“When you knocked him out or when he overexerted himself?”“Daichi!”“What?”"'Delicacy'! Do you know the meaning of that word?"Before Daichi could answer, Asahi interrupted with a whine, “When he overexerted himself! I was carrying him home, and we had a talk. After that he confessed to me! I-I think.”“You think?” At his captain and vice-captain’s tone of incredulity, Asahi tried to elaborate.“He said and I quote, ‘Hey, Asahi-san? I like you.’, and I froze—”“Naturally.”“Do you guys want to hear the story or not!?”“Our bad. Continue.”Asahi grumbled, wondering why he was even friends with them, “—and before I knew it, he was asleep on my back. The next day he didn’t talk about it, never mentioned it, and he continues being normal until today.”“Today?” Asahi squinted at the pair, wondering if they were twins separated at birth. He shook his head to dismiss the theory. “Yeah. Because we’ve been so busy with practice after the interhigh and with the training camp in Tokyo and all, everything seems to be normal, I think. But now, when we’re on a break like this, I feel like he’s avoiding me?”Daichi and Suga gave each other a glance, the two of them sympathized when Asahi stared at the cloth the three of them were sitting on while absentmindedly playing with a small thread coming out of it.“You know,” Asahi lifted his eyes to look at Daichi. “I actually thought you two were together for awhile now.” The black hair turned to Suga for confirmation. He received a nod.With his eyebrows creasing, Asahi questioned, “What makes you say that?”“Well, he was pretty upset when you didn’t come back to the club after his suspension was over. He even refused to play, though Hinata quickly changed his mind about that.”Ah. Another thing he had to thank Hinata for apparently. “Wait, this seriously happened?”Suga replied, “Yeah. Daichi said that Nishinoya thought that if he decided to play and we manage to win a match without you, then we wouldn’t need you to win. And he didn’t want that. We also didn’t want that, though.”“And then the next day after you both came back, you were sleeping with him.” Daichi continued, teasing.“What!?”Suga gave his laughing best friend a slap on the shoulder, though he was smirking. “What Daichi means is that when Nishinoya was out in the nurse’s office, we all came to visit him, only to find you sleeping next to him.”“Oh, t-that.” Even though he was calming down, he still blushed when he recalled that day. “Well that’s normal, right? I fell asleep that’s all.”Daichi and Suga gave him a look. “You both fell asleep holding hands.”“H-he was crying and I was calming him down, that’s all! We just fell asleep in that position!”Daichi frowned. “And when Nishinoya passed out a second time, he was calling for you subconsciously, like he feels safest with you.”“W-well, we are close—”“Not close enough, Asahi!” Suga hissed, making Asahi wince. “Do you know what I think? I think Nishinoya accidentally confessed to you that day, and he pretended like it never happened because he’s scared.”Nishinoya? Scared of Asahi? No way.“Wha—no way! Nishinoya is the last person who should be afraid of me!” argued Asahi. “And I would never do anything to hurt him!” A memory of Nishinoya’s sad face slipped into his mind. “Not— not intentionally, at least.”“Asahi, I’m not saying Nishinoya is afraid of you. I’m saying maybe he’s afraid of your reaction, like if you’d maybe treat him differently, or you’d leave or something.”“Where would I go? I’ve decided that the volleyball club is where I belong. And besides, he had asked me to stay, and I promised him that I’ll always stay with him.” Asahi murmured the last part.“Whoa, seriously? How you guys aren’t a couple yet is beyond me.” Daichi sighed while scratching the back of his neck, but Asahi stayed quiet.“Asahi. Promises can be broken, you know?” Suga hesitantly said.When Asahi didn’t reply, Suga wondered if he had said to much, but on the other hand, things with Asahi and Nishinoya had gone long enough. Suddenly, Asahi shook his head furiously, making Daichi and Suga lean back.“Asahi—”“No. Not this promise.” Staring at Asahi’s determined face as he stood up, Daichi and Suga felt like proud parents.And that’s when they heard a commotion coming from near the shore.“Hey, hey! What’s going on?” Daichi asked while the three of them approached a crowd full of people. The trio arrived to find a little girl coughing harshly in Hinata’s arms.“Hinata, who is this? Is she alright?” Suga quickly took the little girl with brunette hair from the orange head’s trembling arms.Daichi quickly observed his surroundings to check on each members of the team. He did a quick headcount and when he couldn’t find one person, he froze. “Where’s Nishinoya?”Asahi’s blood ran cold.“Hey, hey, it’s alright. Are you okay? What happened?” Suga continued to ask the girl gently while rubbing her back. It didn’t seem like she swallowed too much water, but from the looks of it, the girl definitely had been under the water. Thankfully she managed to come back to shore.“P-please,”“What is it? What’s wrong?”She gripped hard on the grey head’s shoulders. “Please! You have to save that Nii-chan!” Hearing the girl’s hoarse and desperate voice, everyone’s eyes widened.“Who—”“That small Nii-chan! He got me out of the water when I went too far, but I haven’t seen him! He must still be in the water. Please!”At the girl’s remark, Asahi wasted no time to dive into the water. He could hear his friends calling out to him in the background, but as he dived deeper inside the ocean, he paid them no mind. There’s only one thing he could focus on right now, and he had to find it.At the shore, after Kiyoko and Yachi took the crying girl away, Takeda and Daichi went to find help while Suga frantically turned to Tanaka. “Where is Nishinoya!?” He immediately felt guilty for yelling at his kouhai when he saw the look of panic and frustration on his face.“I don’t know! We were playing beach volleyball, then the ball went off somewhere! Kageyama and I went to get it, and when we came back, Noya-san and Hinata were gone!” They all turned their attention towards a crying Hinata.“I-I’m sorry! I should have helped!”“Idiot, calm down” Kageyama tried to calm the boy down but it did little good. Tsukishima was also uncharacteristically quiet as he stood by and watched Yamaguchi and Kageyama try to soothe him.“Hinata, what happened?” Ukai prodded the boy without using his usual commanding voice to calm him down, but everyone could hear the worry in his tone.Hinata sniffed loudly, “When Kageyama and Tanaka-senpai went to get the ball, Nishinoya-senpai said he heard a girl’s voice crying for help! W-when we saw her, senpai told me to stay here since I can’t swim. A-and, when she came back to shore, I quickly grabbed her, b-but Nishinoya-senpai didn’t come up from the oceaaaaaannnnn” he finished with a wail, making Suga pull him into his arms to comfort him.Some of them went quiet, not knowing what to do, while the rest of them including Ukai cursed loudly. His two students were nowhere in sight, and also from the darkness of the clouds, it looked like a storm was coming. One of his worst fears has came true.Fuck.“NISHINOYA!”When Asahi went under the water, he could only think of one thing.Where is he!?, thought the man as he went under again after gulping for air. Where are you!? Noya!The sea was darker now, he realized when he saw the sky. No! Please, please don’t let this happen! Don’t let me lose him!Asahi clenched his eyes shut, praying to whatever God there was so he could find his friend. So he could answer him. So he could tell him he loved him. So they could play volleyball together again. So they could finally be together again!
PLEASE!
Asahi opened his eyes.And that’s when he saw it.A figure of a small human floating in the waters, pale and unconscious, with his legs tangled in seaweed.Asahi wasted no time in swimming towards the boy. He cautiously but quickly untangled the boy’s legs from his binds before grabbing him and starting to swim up the sea.When their heads were finally out of the water, Asahi greedily sucked for air. Nishinoya was limp in his arms and Asahi realized in horror that he wasn't breathing.Forcing himself not to panic, the bearded man started to swim towards a nearby cave which was a much closer distance than the shore.As soon as his feet could touch the ground, Asahi put his arms around Nishinoya’s back and under his knees, lifting him up so he could run inside and put the boy on the hard ground.He’s not breathing—he’s not breathing! Again, forcing himself not to panic, Asahi tried to remember how CPR works. “Come on Asahi, don’t let your internet searching go to waste.” He muttered to himself as he placed his hand on top of the other's chest and started to compress. After thirty compression, he gently tilted the smaller boy’s head, pinched his nose shut and put his lips on the boy's to give air.
Please breathe, please breathe, please breathe!
The older of the two chanted in his mind as he started to compress again.With each compression, he thought of Nishinoya.How he first met him.How their relationship formed into friends rather than a normal senpai-kouhai relationship.How they trained their hardest until nighttime in order to reach their goal: The Nationals.How they had sleepovers, planning to study every time but ended up watching movies instead.How they had their first fight.How Asahi had left the team and Nishinoya and how he came back because of him.How Nishinoya always gave confidence to Asahi and how Asahi had reassured Nishinoya when he was vulnerable.How Nishinoya had confessed to Asahi.
I want to tell you how I feel about you—please, let me tell you...

Nishinoya!!
 ... 
“Cough!”
Asahi’s eyes opened wide.“Cough! Cough! Cough! Urgh—cough! Cough!”Finally realizing what was happening, Asahi quickly pulled Nishinoya to his side so he could throw up the water in his lungs.After a few minutes, he pulled the boy into his arms so the boy’s head was cradled against Asahi's chest.Now, Asahi was leaning back tiredly against the cave’s wall. His hand was cradling Nishinoya’s head while the other was rubbing up and down the boy’s bare back, trying to ease his coughing as he struggled to breathe.But he’s breathing. He’s alive.“Ugh—A-Asahi-san?” Nishinoya murmured weakly.When he lifted his head to see Asahi’s face, his eyes widened.Tears were falling out of the Ace’s eyes and judging by Nishinoya’s utter surprise, the expression on his face must be miserable. Nishinoya lifted a hand to touch his senpai’s tearful face. He tried to wipe them with his fingers but it was no use. The tears kept flowing out of Asahi's eyes, so he settled with stroking Asahi’s cheek for comfort.“Hey,” The boy whispered, his voice hoarse. “Are you alright?” Asahi wanted to laugh. Nishinoya was the one who nearly drowned but he was the one to ask if Asahi was alright.Asahi closed his eyes instead and shook his head, his hold against Nishinoya tightening. “I almost lost you. God, if I had lost you, I’d—” he whimpered, not daring to finish that sentence.“But you didn’t, Asahi-san. You saved me.” Nishinoya closed his eyes. He put his forehead against Asahi’s, savoring warmth. “You saved me. Thank you. I’m okay. We’re okay, Asahi.”Hearing Nishinoya’s comforting voice—feeling his body heat, his heartbeat, him breathing—Asahi was filled with so much relief, the tears from his eyes flowed down his face even harder. “Yuu,” Asahi gathered Nishinoya closer. The last thing he saw before putting his lips on the boy he fell in love with was his beautiful brown eyes, signifying that he was alive. 🖤🧡

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Water.

There’s water everywhere.

Surrounding him. Making him unable to breathe.

He can't breathe.

He. Can't. Breathe!

He wanted to get out, he wanted to be free from the darkness but the feel of his bindings was preventing him from going anywhere.

Running out of breath in panic, he felt water flooding his burning lungs. Dark spots clouded his vision as the muscles on his body were going weak.

He was going to die today, leaving his parents, grandparents, his friends and teammates, his coach and sensei, Kiyoko-san and Yachi-san, and—

Asahi—
Nishinoya gasped harshly as he woke up from his nightmare. He could feel sweat running down his body, his eyes wide and his breathing rapid.
It wasn’t just a nightmare.
Nishinoya realized as he sat up, a hand quickly clamped over his mouth at the sudden feeling of nausea while he used the other to lean against the bed so he won’t fall back. Breathing hard through his nose, Nishinoya tried to recall what happened.There was a girl in the middle of a harsh wave.He ran to save her but he ended up in trouble himself.His legs got tangled by a mass of seaweed, preventing him from swimming to the surface, so he had used his remaining strength to push the little girl out of the water instead.Better me than her, he had thought, but that didn’t diminish the fear he had felt in that moment.He almost drowned.He almost died.“Damn seaweed." Nishinoya shivered. No eating seaweed or swimming for him for a couple of weeks, then.After a few more attempts in calming himself down and finally being able to breathe normally, the boy wondered what happened after he had passed out. He was also hoping the girl was alright.It didn’t take long for all of his memories to come back.A strong hand pulling him away from the cruel water, him being held against a strong body, protecting him and calming him down as he struggled to breathe.A pair of lips covering his own.Finally putting the last piece of the puzzle, the libero felt his face flushing red.His heart was beating quickly for a whole other reason now.“Nishinoya?” He tensed when he heard a whisper from his right. It was Sugawara.The vice-captain had opened the sliding door quietly, light was coming out of the space between the slightly opened door and the wall, lightly shining the dark room Nishinoya was occupying.“Suga-san.”“Hey, how are you feeling?” The grey hair gave a comforting smile as he took a step inside the room and closed the door shut before sitting next to his kouhai’s futon.Suga, as well as the other members of the team had never been more scared in their lives when they saw Asahi carrying an unconscious Nishinoya back to the shore. When they saw the ace’s miserable face, they momentarily forgot how he usually wore his heart on his sleeve, so they had assumed the worst had happened to the boy.Thankfully, Asahi quickly put them out of their misery by telling how Nishinoya had gave him a bit of a scare but everything was alright since the boy was alive and breathing (by that point Suga wondered if Asahi was reassuring them or himself). However, Nishinoya had also swallowed a quite amount of water that it made him stopped breathing and Asahi had to bring him back to life. So Ukai and Takeda both agreed to take the unconscious boy to a clinic nearby.After the doctor had deemed the boy fine and he just needed rest and not to overexert himself, they took him back to the inn so he could rest.That was a few hours ago.“I feel fine.” Nishinoya added a smile, but Suga can tell it was forced.“Really? You look pale, you know. Did you have a nightmare? Are you cold? Do you need more blanket?” Nishinoya wanted to laugh when his senpai switched on his mother hen mode, but he just felt so tired and restless.“Really, Suga-san, I’m fine! Where are the others by the way?” The boy hoped the setter didn’t notice the tremble in his voice.“They’re eating dinner. I’ve only just finished, and I wanted to check up on you. Are you hungry? Do you want me to bring you food?” At the mention of food, Nishinoya felt his stomach churning, so he shook his head.When the boy went quiet again, Suga felt a pang of sympathy. Clearly the boy had been shook by the incident that occurred that day—he almost drowned for God’s sake. Putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, Suga spoke again, “Do you want me to get Tanaka or Asahi?”At the mention of Karasuno’s Ace, Nishinoya tensed. Again, he felt his face turning red.“I’ll take that as a yes.” When Suga moved to stand up, Nishinoya flailed his hands. “W-wait, Suga-san! I—”“It’s alright, I think you should be with someone who you’re most comfortable with right now, especially after a traumatizing experience.” At that, Nishinoya looked down in shame. Contemplating the younger man’s quietness, Suga spoke again, making the first raise his head.“You know, Nishinoya, it’s alright to be weak sometimes. You don’t always have to be strong for us. You always have our backs, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have yours.” The grey head smiled kindly before going out of the room and shutting the door, leaving Nishinoya alone with his thoughts.It was a full ten minutes before the door to the room he’s currently occupying slide open again, this time with a taller figure stepping inside.Asahi.“H-hey.” It was weird for the younger of the two, because usually it was the older who was always nervous and stuttering, but this time it was him. He couldn’t even face the man who saved his life. How embarrassing and cowardly of him.Asahi was quiet when he sat down next to Nishinoya’s futon, a place where Suga had been ten minutes ago. The man smelt of soap and shampoo with a hint of salt. He must have had a short shower, an act Nishinoya assumed Daichi and Suga had forced him to do while the man was still perturbed.When the boy glanced at him, he couldn’t see his face clearly because of how his long bangs were covering it. This was one of the few times he had seen Asahi quiet like this, because this quiet was unlike any other. It wasn’t like when Asahi was scared or restless, or when he was concentrating before a match.It was similar to when they lost against Date Tech.Feeling restless because of his nausea and pounding head, Nishinoya chose to rip the band aid and said, “Asahi-san, I know this is a stupid question, but is something wrong?”He didn’t expect Asahi to suddenly raise his hand, so he flinched, yet when the latter used the raised hand to cup his face, Nishinoya’s eyes widen.“Asahi—mmph!” Feeling weak and overwhelmed by a pair of lips suddenly crashing against his own, Nishinoya instinctively closed his eyes.Kiss.Asahi was kissing him.The boy gripped Asahi’s shirt when he felt the man’s other hand cupping the other side of his face to tilt it, effectively deepening the kiss.Nishinoya moaned. This kiss is unlike the one from a few hours ago. Back then, it was uncertain, gentle and comforting, but now it’s desperate, like Asahi was trying to convince himself that Nishinoya was truly here and alive.He felt the same. His grip on Asahi was like an anchor holding him down from floating away to an unknown place.To the bottom of the ocean.Feeling the boy in his arms suddenly shivering, and also realizing what he had done, Asahi pulled away. “N-Nishinoya, I-I’m sor—” He started to say, but a hand clamped his mouth shut.“Don’t you dare say that word Asahi-san.” Red face be damned, Nishinoya would still be strict with Asahi if the large man were to go back to his glass-heart state.
And he was being forward for once, damn it.
Asahi closed his eyes for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts before pulling Nishinoya’s hand away gently. Once again, Nishinoya was surprised at Asahi’s boldness when the latter suddenly put his arms around his smaller frame to pull him against his large chest.With face as ripe as a tomato, Nishinoya tensed, yet he didn’t have the heart to pull away after hearing the sound of Asahi’s heartbeat. It was beating extremely fast. And all because of him?Nishinoya struggled to lift his head because of Asahi's iron grip, but when his eyes landed on Asahi he, it was then that he saw clearly how red the man’s face was compared to him.It wasn’t even a few seconds for their eyes to meet when Asahi tore his gaze to bury his face in Nishinoya’s neck. The boy then heard the man muttering something.His eyes went wide.“W-what did you say?” The boy wanted to pull away to look at his crush’s face again, but the arms holding him were too tight.“I said, I like you, Noya.” Asahi said again, still hiding his face in Nishinoya’s neck, but this time his confession was clear. “I-I don’t know if you feel the same way, but—” At that, Nishinoya didn’t give Asahi another second to hide.“Don't feel the same way?” Asahi winced when the boy pulled away to give him an incredulous look. “I freaking confessed to you, like a long time ago!”Asahi spluttered. “I-In my defense, you snored afterwards, so I thought you were mumbling in your sleep-”“I was faking!” Nishinoya gritted his teeth in annoyance, but more at himself. “Granted, I’m not proud of it, but I wasn’t in my top form back then to hear your rejection!”“S-s-so that’s why you acted as if nothing happened the day after? And why did you think I would reject you?”“Isn’t it obvious? You’re so smart, and cool, and amazing, Asahi-san! Why in the world would you want to date me?” The boy looked away at his last statement. Looking at the pouting boy while wondering how the hell could he feel insecure, Asahi felt a rush of protectiveness. So he put his palms against the boy’s cheeks, gently turning his face towards his so they can meet each others’ eyes again.“Why in the world would I not want to date you? You’re always so energetic and reliable, always lifting the team’s spirit and give us confidence. You always give me confidence. You even saved a girl’s life today, Noya. Her name is Yuki, by the way, and she and her brother wanted to thank you.”With his eyes wide, Nishinoya asked, “So she’s okay?”Asahi nodded, his thumbs gently stroking the boy's pink cheeks. “Yeah. Tanaka was torn in choosing whether to follow you to the clinic or to beat up her brother for being so careless in watching over her.”“I see,” To his horror, Nishinoya felt tears beginning to form in his eyes. He tried to laugh it off and wipe them away, but they didn’t stop flowing down his face. “S-sorry Asahi-san. God, I’m such a mess.”He felt drained all of the sudden, the feeling of nausea replaced by relief from hearing that a girl’s life wasn’t taken away on his watch and warmth from Tanaka for being a bro and once again having his back. Not only him though; his friends according to Suga and most of all, Asahi who was comforting him.“There, you see? You were worried about Yuki-chan rather than yourself. You’re always thinking of others, how can I not fall in love with you?” Nishinoya was so shocked, he stopped crying.“Y-you love me?” Asahi’s eyes widened as if realizing that he had let out what he hadn’t meant to say.But he didn’t deny it. “N-Nishinoya, you have to understand. My odd behavior today—you almost died, and the thought of losing you almost killed me. I realized that when you weren’t breathing, the only thought in my mind was that I couldn’t let you die without you knowing how I feel about you. N-n-not that I would’ve let you even if I wasn’t in love with you!” He added as an afterthought.“So, your crying face back in the cave—and when you kissed me back then and just now?” Asahi nodded timidly.A few moments of silence passed before Nishinoya moved his arms to put them around Asahi’s neck, his face leaning forward to capture the large man’s lips in his. The sudden act made the ace tense but he quickly relaxed, kissing the libero back passionately.Though as clumsy as he is, the romantic moment was gone when Asahi leaned forward too much, making them both fall down. As they landed on Nishinoya’s futon, the older of the two hastily apologized, only to be brushed of by the younger's surprised laughter. The boy’s laugh, which was free of tenseness and awkwardness made Asahi feel at ease, so he laughed with him.He then proceeded to kiss the boy on his forehead.“Asahi?” The man smiled at the mention of his name.“Yes, Yuu?”“Stay with me.”“Of course.”As Nishinoya fell asleep in Asahi’s arms, the latter realized this was the first time they slept together as a couple.He then proceeded to follow the boy and fall asleep with a smile on his face.Nishinoya woke up in the middle of the night feeling hot.It didn’t take long for him to find out that the source was not only from Asahi cuddling him, but also from Shoyo who was spooning him and Ryuu who had one of his legs hostage. His other teammates were sleeping normally on the futons that were placed around his, making the small room even more cramped.He untangled himself slowly and quietly as to not disturb his friends, making Asahi, Ryuu and Shoyo grumble in their sleep at the loss of warmth. Sorry guys, I seriously need to pee.When he came back to the room, he noticed a tray of food that was left near the door.It didn’t take long for him to consume the sandwiches and the glass of water with tears in his eyes.He had the best volleyball team, no, the best friends in the whole world. 🖤🧡

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A pair of lips against his own, followed by a tongue pushing through his mouth, tasting every part of the sweetness in it. He had his back pushed against the wall with his hands also pinned against it by a large hand. And with the knee between his legs rubbing against his groin, he knew there was no escape.He threw his head back when he felt a nipple being tweaked and pinched by the man’s other hand, moaning in ecstasy even more when he felt a full on kissing and biting down his neck. In the back of his mind he was sure the man was going to leave marks, but he couldn’t care less.Gasping out the name of the one currently manhandling him, he forced out, “Fuck me—God, please, please—A-ahn-!” He moaned out loud as the mouth continued down his nipple, biting and suckling it. He felt the other smirking against the sensitive nub and if it weren’t for the fact that he was wondering how he was suddenly half-naked, he would have smacked the man right there and then.But he was hard. So, so hard and his mind was going crazy with want. The next thing he knew, he was being carried to the bed with his legs around his lover’s waist while his lover’s hands were squeezing his ass. He kissed the man again and didn't stop as he was placed on the soft surface.In the next few seconds, both of their clothes were gone, the smaller of the two laying on his back with the bigger on top of him. The latter wasted no time in attacking the first with his mouth, roaming from lips, to ears, to chest, down to his navel and thighs, kissing every bruises on his body along the way that had resulted from playing the sport he loved so much—even the ones he didn't remember making.When the mouth kissed the tip of his erected member, he felt his eyes rolling to the back of his head, forcing a high-pitched whine out of him. One of his hands was gripping his lover’s beautiful long hair, while the other gripped the sheets. Incapable of forming a full sentence, the boy could only let out a series of moans, groans and whimpers. He's also not above begging, especially when he felt a lubed finger pushing through his hole.Within the next few minutes, the amount of fingers turned into two, and then into three, all without the boy stopping his moaning while the one currently fingering him whispered sweet nothings into his ear. The man took his time making the other desperate and begging, making sure the latter felt good by having his walls wrecked and his prostate milked.Soon, the fingers were replaced by a large cock, and he screamed when it quickly slammed against his sweet spot. They quickly fell into a rhythm; the one they usually went through whenever they are almost reaching their limits.After a series of slamming and clenching, a large hand took a hold of his cock, jerking it off so they both could come at the same time.With his nails biting his lover’s back as they come, they let out one last moan, surrendering themselves into bliss.Nishinoya was in love with Asahi.He developed a crush on him the day the two of them met, right at the moment the giant had spiked a volleyball in front of him the first time Nishinoya had attended practice at Karasuno.He realized he liked Asahi as more than a friend when he had crushed Nishinoya’s feelings unknowingly by leaving the club.He had fallen in love with him when he woke up from almost drowning and Asahi’s face was the first thing he saw after that traumatizing experience.From that moment onward, ‘Asahi-san’ became ‘Asahi’ while ‘Nishinoya’ became ‘Yuu’, at least whenever the two were alone. It didn’t matter after two months of dating though. Everyone knew they were together soon enough. As time flew by, the man he fell in love with had grown with more confidence and bravery. He himself felt he had matured by being with his lover for all those years. But when he slowly opened his eyes and Asahi’s worried face was the first thing he saw, Nishinoya was reminded of how much of a glass-heart his lover was.Despite that, Nishinoya knew he won't stop loving this man anytime soon.“Asahi?” He watched as the man on top of him let out a sigh of relief before he felt a kiss landing on his forehead.“I’m so glad you’re awake.”“Huh?”“You fainted on me, Yuu.” At that, he was reminded of the lack of clothes on his body. Asahi was sitting on their bed half-naked with only sporting a pair of slacks and looking like a whole meal, while the only thing covering the smaller of the two was a blanket.“I did? Well, we haven’t had sex for awhile and this time you did go hard on me.” He said in a thinking pose, making Asahi chuckle nervously while scratching the back on his neck.“Well, I’ve missed you, and you said to go rough this time, so—”“I didn’t say it was a bad thing, Asahi.” The younger laughed.“But you fainted! That’s never happened before.”Nishinoya waved his hand, brushing the fact that he did pass out just now. “Maybe I was just tired after training camp!”True. Nishinoya was in his third year and the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club had a two week training camp in Tokyo with Nekoma High. And seeing as they were in Tokyo, Nishinoya had decided to visit Asahi. Smart, creative Asahi who was attending a fashion college, all while having an apartment of his own. He's really come a long way and Noya was so proud of him.Tomorrow was the last day of training camp, and today, with the permission of Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei (and after a lot of begging and diligent practice), Nishinoya was allowed the chance to visit Asahi. The other members of the club also wanted to visit him, but seeing as they knew that Nishinoya had more reasons to go, they agreed to let the libero off on his own.“I still can’t believe Coach and sensei gave you permission to stay the night here.” Asahi said after they had showered, the two of them now in a cuddling position. Asahi’s hand was stroking Nishinoya’s soft, post-shower hair, making the boy in his arms sigh.“Hmm, I think they have a soft spot on me. And I'm a third-year now, so they must trust me to be responsible, right?”Asahi huffed. “You say that as if I’m not responsible enough to sent you back to your camp tomorrow.”Noya buried his face into his boyfriend’s chest. He wanted to purr with how comfortable he was. “Would you be willing to, though?”After a few moments of silence, the younger man felt the older shaking his head. “No.” He said firmly before adjusting his position so he could lay on his side to look at Nishinoya, his fingers brushing the boy’s cheek. “I don’t think I could let you leave.”Nishinoya grasped Asahi’s wrist gently to stroke his pulse with a thumb, raising his eyes to give him a fond look. “But you have to.”Asahi’s gaze on Noya was soft, “But I have to.” Sighing, he pulled Nishinoya tighter into his arms. He placed his chin ontop of his lover’s head.“Stay with me tonight, though, Yuu.”Closing his eyes while squeezing Asahi’s waist, Noya smiled in satisfaction. “’Course, 'Sahi.”Asahi’s heartbeat and their soft breathing were the last thing Nishinoya heard before falling into a restful sleep. 🖤🧡

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They’ve been together for a total of seven years.Seven years filled with lots of hand holdings, kisses, cuddles and snuggles, making love, fights, tears, anger, hurt, comfort, happiness, and most of all: love.No matter how much the two of them fought, usually either to protect each other or over trivial things, and most of time because of the distance (becaused they missed each other so bad and had let the frustrations get to them), they always made up.Aside from being so in love with one another, fate seemed to have a favoritism on them and it was shown by them receiving a reward: when Asahi had graduated fashion school and was recognized for his talents, he earned enough money that he could buy his own studio for work. And from that work, he had earned decent money so he could travel the world with his love.Gone were the times when they had to schedule phonecalls because of the time difference. Gone were the times when they had to wait for postcards when Nishinoya had to travel to places without good signals. Gone were the phonesex or sexting (even though they vowed to continue that if Asahi had to go for a business trip in the future).And now, three years after graduating, with a current stable job that could pay their apartment rent every month with his boyfriend living in it, Asahi couldn’t be happier.That was—if tonight went according to plan.The thing is, usually with Yuu, things most of the time didn't go according to plan. So when he heard a racket coming inside their apartment while he was fumbling with his keys, Asahi couldn’t say he was surprised.Although, his heart almost stopped when he heard a yelp followed by something hard landing on the ground. “YUU!” Not even bothering to take his shoes off or even closing the front door, Asahi ran towards the kitchen, only to find his boyfriend sprawled on the ground next to a fallen chair.“Oh my gosh, Yuu! Are you okay?” The younger man was using his hand to prop himself up against the floor while using his other hand to massage his head. Asahi quickly put his arm around his shoulders so he could lean on him while placing his other hand on the others’ cheek to take a good look at him.Yuu hissed, “Fine, fine. I’m fine, just—my head hurts as fuck!” He normally didn't like Yuu cursing, but this time he could only feel relieved because if Yuu could still curse then that meant he’s not going to pass out anytime soon. Thank God for small mercies.“Here, let me take a look.” Yuu grumbled but still complied as he put his forehead against Asahi’s strong chest, sucking in the warmth and smell of his boyfriend to distract himself from the pain.Thankfully, Asahi was skillful and gentle so Yuu didn’t feel uncomfortable too much when two large hands examined the back of his head.When Asahi was finished, he patted Yuu’s back and said, “I think you’ll be alright. You’re going to have quite a bump, though.” Yuu started to whine while burying his head further into Asahi’s chest, his arms now around the giant’s torso.Asahi chuckled, “Seriously, though, someday you’re going to give me a heart attack, Yuu.” He looked around at the mess. It wasn't too messy and there was no sign of broken utensils that could cut Yuu in any way. Instead, there was just a chair out of place. Yuu had probably used it to reach something in the cupboards—Asahi’s head snapped upwards to look at the opened cupboards. His eyes then moved frantically towards the floor, searching for an object.
If Yuu fell with it, then—no—it can’t be! Please don’t let it be—
And that’s when his eyes found a small black box on the floor. It was opened and a ring was lying abandoned not far from it.His engagement ring.The one he bought two months ago with Daichi and Suga when he visited Sendai and Yuu was off in New Zealand.He was going to propose with it. To Yuu.
Tonight.
His eyes then snapped towards the younger male in front of him. When he put his hands on Yuu’s shoulders to pull him away from his chest, he could see that the smaller man’s face was very pink and his eyes were looking at anywhere but Asahi.“Uh—Did-did you…?”“Did I see? Of course I did, otherwise I wouldn’t fall then would I?”“W-why were you up there anyway?”“I was hungry. I know you’re the one who usually prepared the plates and bowls because it’s too high for me to reach, but I wanted mac and cheese! And you said you’re gonna be home late tonight, so I decided to do it myself!”Yes. Tonight. He had plans tonight, that’s why he said he was gonna be home late!“I was going to take you out for dinner—”“Oh. But I didn’t know that now, did I?”“Yuu, stop being such a smartass.”“You like me being a smartass.”“No, I just like your ass.” He squeezed Yuu’s ass to make a point, making the younger gasp and grab his shirt in surprise.“Asahi! Is this really the time?” At any other time, Asahi would beg to differ because normally it was Yuu who’s always up for sex. “Hey. I-is that what I think it is?” Yuu nodded at the ring on the ground, his eyes wide in awe. Accepting that there was no way around this, Asahi surrendered to the situation at hand.After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he moved to stand up while pulling Yuu up with him. With a trembling hand  he picked up the fallen ring before turning back to his boyfriend—hopefully, soon-to-be fiancée—and getting down on one knee while presenting the ring in his hand.“Yuu,” He stuttered, suddenly feeling like a high school boy again, wanting to just drop everything and run away to his room and never look back. But it’s okay, he thought, because it’s Yuu. It’s always okay whenever it’s with Yuu.He was also grateful that Yuu was being patient with him, even though his glassy eyes were clearly saying that it’s taking everything in him not to burst with overwhelming feelings. They were looking at him with so much awe, fondness, and love that Asahi felt more confident in what he's about to do.“Yuu, I—w-we’ve been together for a long time. The day we first met, I knew you were going to have a special place in my life, but I didn’t think you would be this special. There were countless times when I have doubts in myself, but each time you’ve given me the courage and confidence to move forward. There were also times where you pushed yourself too much, and it’s become unbearable for me, not—not because I want you to stop giving your all but because I want to always be there for you. Especially whenever the world becomes too much for you. I want to support you like you’ve always supported everyone around you. Like how you’ve always supported me.” By this time, Asahi, and to his surprise, Yuu had tears flowing out of their eyes. But Asahi didn’t want to stop, he wanted Yuu to know how much he loved him. How much he’s ready to take the next step with him. How much he's ready to follow him anywhere to the ends of the Earth.While his trembling hand was holding up the symbol of his love for Yuu, he lifted the other one to take one of Yuu’s in his. Once they're clasped together, Yuu squeezed tight. “I love you so much, Yuu, and I want to always support you and be with you. You have always asked me to stay with you, and right now, I’m asking you to stay with me. Forever.”“Asahi,” Yuu choked while biting his lips to try and keep himself quiet. His hair was down and not in its usual gelled-up style. His face was red and messy with tears but at this moment, right now, Asahi thought his lover never looked so beautiful.Asahi smiled and squeezed the small hand in his larger one. The small hand which belonged to the person who protected. The person Asahi loved very much, more than anyone else in this world. “So, with all being said, Nishinoya Yuu, will you marry me?”Bursting more tears, Yuu wasted no time in tackling Asahi, making both of them land on the floor once more. “Y-Yuu-!”“YES! Yes, you big oaf! The answer’s yes! How can it be anything other than yes!”Soon, the two of them were laughing with tears and snot on their faces, but both couldn’t care less as Asahi moved to place the ring on his fiancee’s ring finger. He watched as Yuu formed the biggest grin on his face—scratch that, this is Yuu’s most beautiful face—before the younger cupped his cheeks and gave him a passionate kiss.“I love you, Asahi, I love you so much,” Yuu said with excitement while peppering kisses all over Asahi’s face. “and damn we’re gonna get married! Wait ‘til I tell Ryuu and Saeko-neesan about this!” As if realizing something, Asahi tensed.“Shit!” Caught off guard at his fiancée’s cursing, Yuu pulled away.“Asahi, did you just curse?”“Oh god, Tanaka’s going to kill me! Shitshitshit”“What? Why would Ryuu kill you? Wait, don’t tell me you didn’t ask his permission to marry me?” Yuu joked while giggling, obviously not noticing Asahi’s distress.“Of course I did!” That caught him off guard again.“You did? You asked Ryuu’s permission to marry me?” Yuu asked, his tone filled with amusement and somewhat incredulity.“Right after asking your parents, sisters and grandpa! But that’s not the problem here.” Asahi whimpered the last part.Yuu was about to ask again what the problem actually was, but the sound of Asahi’s phone going off cut him off. When Asahi didn’t answer and instead looked back and forth from Yuu to his phone—even repeated the motion three more times, Yuu had just about enough.He grabbed the phone from his lover’s hand, tapping the screen while he used his other hand to push Asahi's face away. He didn’t have the chance to answer with a ‘hello’, though.
“ASAHI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU YOU BIG TEDDY-BEAR, YOU SHOULD’VE BEEN HERE HALF AN HOUR AGO!”

“Daichi, keep your voice down! What if Yuu’s there with him!”

“Maybe he’s stuck in traffic, Daichi-san. Calm down, please.”
“No, no, no, no! We’ve been stuck in traffic, Chikara, and we even got to the restaurant before him!”
“You’re as impatient as always, Tanaka-san”

“Pffft.”

“Oy, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi! Come here and have the taste of your senpais fist of love! It’s been a long time don’t ya think!?”

“I’d rather not. And you’re not my senpai anymore, Tanaka-san.”

"Please don't hit me, Tanaka-san."

“Wow. Look at you acting all high and mighty.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, your majesty.”

“You’re still calling me that!?”

“Mannn, you’re so loud, Kageyamaaa!”
“And I don’t want to hear that from you, dumbass!”
“Wha—seriously! We’ve been together five years, and you still call me that!”

“Well, well, someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight~”

“Tsk!”
“ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!” And suddenly the couple heard nothing but quiet that lasted only for a few seconds. “Asahi, where. The. Hell. Are. You.”Asahi gulped. “I-I’m, uh—”“He’s still at home, Daichi-san!” The other side of the call went quiet again. ... 
“NOYA!?”
“So what’s this about a restaurant, Ryuu? Was Asahi supposed to propose to me there?”, chuckled Yuu in amusement.“Yuu!” Asahi’s whine made Yuu laugh even more. Then, various responses and complaints were heard.
“What the hell!?”
“Asahi, you do know how proposing works, right?”“Of course I do, Koushi! What do you take me for!?”“Okay, now I’m confused.” Asahi and Yuu could practically hear the others nodding in agreement, so they decided to explain what happened.With all things cleared (and after a lot of teasing from Daichi and Koushi because 'Of course this kind of thing only happens to Asahi'), the ex-Karasuno High School Volleyball Club members decided to cancel the reservation at the restaurant and instead opted to visit the Azumane-Nishinoya apartment to celebrate the newly-engaged couple. It turned out, Kiyoko and Yachi also came (both of them and Koushi immediately demanded to see Yuu's ring), but sadly Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei were unable to attend because they were busy with the new batch of volleyball members. However, they did send their wishes.Asahi and Yuu were both happy and moved that their friends had taken time out of their busy schedules to visit them, especially the younger ones who were now about to graduate college and were professional athletes. "Of course we came! You're our precious senpais!""SHOUYOOOUUUU!""NOYA-SANNNNNN!"Yuu, with some kind of superpowers, managed to tackle all five of Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Yachi. Meanwhile, Asahi smiled tearily at them while he kept pouring them drinks as thanks.With junk food, cake and alcohol involved, the visit became a party-slash-reunion of some sort.“To Asahi and Yuu!” Daichi said, “The most frustrating couple I’ve ever known—”“O-oi!”"Not fair, Daichi-san!"“—really it’s so tiring seeing you two pining obviously for each other for all those years. I hope you have a long and happy life together! Kanpai!”
“KANPAI!”
True enough, it’s been quite a frustrating journey for the couple. They had to deal with losses, abandonment, anger, sadness, dangers, misunderstandings, separations, longing, yearning, hardship, and more. But on the other hand, they get to experience winning, forgiveness, mending their relationship, happiness, saving each other, communicate more with each other, reuniting, falling in love with each other, and just being there for each other.With that thought in mind, while celebrating the special night with their long-time friends and most of all their fiancée, Asahi and Yuu could not be happier.After the party was done and they said their tearful goodbyes, and after promising for another reunion, Yuu joined Asahi on the couch.The younger leaned his head tiredly against Asahi’s shoulder. He fiddled with his new ring, eyes seemingly unable to stop staring at the opal stone. It made Asahi feel giddy and fond at the same time."So, honeymoon. Thoughts?""Hmm." Asahi gave it a thought while kissing his fiancee’s temple. "How about Egypt?" 🖤 The End 🧡