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“Excuse me,” Suga called out politely as he stepped past the net blocking the opened gym door. He moved quietly so as not to cause much of a disturbance, though his visit was evidently timed perfectly. The players inside were clearly on a break, talking quietly amongst themselves as they sipped from water bottles. Not too far from the door, a pink-haired wing spiker grinned mischievously.
“ Suga-chan, how thoughtful! You brought me a present.” He nodded at the covered container in Suga’s hands. Suga chuckled.
“I did. Don’t tell Tooru, though. You know how jealous he gets.” Suga grinned, matching Makki’s energy with a wink. Makki snickered.
“Speaking of…” He took a deep breath before hollering, “Yo, Oikawa! Your boyfriend is here!”
All eyes turned towards the pair, many perking up as they noticed their guest. It wasn’t Suga’s first time at the Aoba Johsai gym. Despite their teams being rivals, Suga had more than won the hearts of many of Seijoh’s players. Maybe it was his bright smile that lit up the room when he walked in. Or the kind and patient way he guided not only his own underclassmen but even occasionally Seijoh’s players too. Or his insightful observations on the occasion that he observed the other team train. Or maybe it was because he was one of two people that could keep Seijoh’s captain in line whenever necessary. Even their coaches were fond of Suga. Whether it be because of his helpful suggestions or the way all of the boys (even Kunimi, surprisingly) worked just a touch harder when Suga was present, the coaches were more than happy to let him sit in. Whatever the reason, Oikawa was happy that his team had embraced his boyfriend so readily, though that sometimes led to him being more than a bit overprotective.
Oikawa visibly brightened when his eyes landed on his boyfriend. He turned away from Iwaizumi and jogged over to the pair by the gym doors. Suga had spent enough time with Oikawa’s friends to recognize the devious glint in Makki’s eyes just before he slung his arm across Suga’s shoulder, pulling him closer to himself.
“How sweet of Sugawara-san here to come all this way to bring me a present. Isn’t he the best, Oikawa?” Makki cooed fondly, grinning in Oikawa’s direction. Suga rolled his eyes, shaking his head with fond exasperation in his smile. Oikawa rose to the bait easily, bristling at the teasing.
“Hey! Hands off Kou-chan, Makki!” He made a grab for Suga but Makki easily steered them away.
“Nah, don’t think I will.”
Oikawa pouted. “Oh go kiss your own boyfriend, why don’t you? Leave mine out of it.”
Makki smirked. “Good idea. Hey babe?” He called in Mattsun’s direction.
Mattsun, from where he sat not too far off against a wall, called back, “Yeah?”
“Oikawa says I should kiss Sugawara. That cool?”
Oikawa squawked indignantly. “I did not!”
“Only if you share,” Mattsun replied. Iwaizumi started laughing. Suga held back a laugh, if only for his boyfriend’s sake.
“Alright, bet.”
Oikawa glowered at the wing spiker. Makki put his hands up placatingly. “Ok, ok,” he conceded. With a pat at Suga’s back, he gave him a gentle push towards Oikawa’s direction. Oikawa wasted no time in scooping Suga up in his arms, sticking his tongue out at Makki. Suga giggled, pressing a chaste kiss to Oikawa’s cheek to calm him. Oikawa immediately brightened up, his annoyance at Hanamaki forgotten.
With a hand at Suga’s lower back, he quickly guided him out the gym door. They stood a little to the side of it to give themselves a bit of privacy. Away from prying eyes, Oikawa pressed a kiss to Suga’s lips. Suga gave a pleased hum as he deepened it. He wrapped one arm around Oikawa’s back, his other hand still holding onto the container in his hand. They pulled away from the kiss but Oikawa kept Suga close with his hands wrapped around his boyfriend’s waist.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Oikawa stared lovingly into Suga’s eyes. Suga went on his toes to press another quick kiss to Oikawa’s lips.
“Just wanted to give the birthday boy a little something I made.” He wiggled out of Oikawa’s hold to present the container in his hand. Oikawa took it and gasped in delight when he popped the lid off. Inside was a neat pile of glossy milk bread rolls. Oikawa took one out and ripped a piece off. He made a pleased noise when the flavor hit his tongue. The bread was still warm.
“Kou-chan, it’s so good!” He wasted no time in devouring the rest of the roll. Suga giggled, pleased that the fruits of his labor were appreciated.
“Well there’s plenty more where that came from, but you should save them for later. I don’t need to get a lecture from Iwaizumi-san cuz the team captain is too full to play properly.” He placed the lid back on the container.
"But Kou-chan," Oikawa whined. He pouted, hitting Suga with his best puppy eyes. Suga gave an exasperated sigh.
"Fine. One more." He opened the lid. Oikawa gleefully took another roll. Suga shut the container with finality. He tried to look annoyed, but he couldn't hold it as he saw the content look on his boyfriend's face. Suga laced their free hands together, swinging them gently between them.
"Do you have any plans for later?" Suga asked as Oikawa popped the last piece of the roll in his mouth. "I was thinking we can go to dinner after your practice."
Oikawa chewed as he mentally ran through his schedule. Oikawa shook his head, giving Suga's hand a little squeeze. "Nope. I'm all yours, babe."
Suga smiled. "Good." He snuggled up close to Oikawa, burying his face against his shoulder. "We're leaving for Tokyo early tomorrow morning. I'm not going to be able to see you for a while. I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could before I left." Something about that admission left Suga flustered. He hid his reddening face into Oikawa's shoulder, but he couldn't hide the way the tips of his ears colored. Oikawa chuckled at the sight. He wrapped his arms around Suga and pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his temple.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Kou-chan."
They stayed like that in a comfortable silence, basking in the warmth of the summer sun and each other’s presence. A minute or so later, Suga pulled back just enough to look up at Oikawa.
“How about a date when I get back? Daichi was telling me about this thing happening downtown. I was thinking we can take a little break before volleyball completely takes over our lives.” He grinned teasingly. “Well, more than it already has. Think I can steal you away from your true love, oh Grand King?”
Oikawa narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out. Suga snickered. Oikawa pinched his side in retaliation, making Suga laugh outright. The sound brought a smile to Oikawa’s face.
“Of course, babe. That sounds great. Maybe we can invite Dai-chan and Iwa-chan for a double date?” He smirked. “Who knows? Maybe they’ll finally stop pining and actually ask each other out.”
Someone behind them cleared their throat loudly. At the door was Iwaizumi, glaring at the pair, though it didn’t quite have its usual effect with the way his cheeks were tinged pink. Suga hid his giggles behind his hand.
“Alright, that’s enough, love birds. Break’s over.” Oikawa groaned and only held Suga tighter. Iwaizumi gave him a pointed look. “Don’t make me drag you in here.” Oikawa sighed dramatically and reluctantly let Suga go. As Oikawa walked to the door, Iwaizumi turned to Suga. “You staying for practice?”
Suga nodded. “Yeah, let me just put this by Tooru’s bag.” Iwaizumi reached into the shoe cubby by the entrance and pulled out his copy of the club room’s keys. He tossed them over to Suga who caught them with his free hand.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t take too long,” Oikawa pleaded. Iwaizumi groaned and shoved him through the door. He nodded at Suga before following after him. Suga snickered.
Suga followed the familiar path over to Seijoh's clubroom. He'd been there more than enough times to navigate by himself.
(And had more than one little romp in there in secret. But the rest of the team didn’t need to know that.)
In the room, Suga found Oikawa's locker and placed the container beside his sports bag before opening the bag. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small wrapped box, which he slipped into the pocket of Oikawa's folded uniform pants. He smiled, already picturing the surprised look on his boyfriend's face when he noticed the present. He made sure everything looked the same as he found it before he zipped up the bag and closed the locker. He locked up the door behind him before he made his way back to the gym.
When he got back inside, he saw that the boys were set up for a scrimmage. He slipped the key back by Iwaizumi's shoes before taking up his usual spot. Rather than heading for the upper level where spectators could watch practice, Suga headed for the bench where Coach Irihata was seated, observing his players. When the coach had first invited him to watch from the courtside rather than from the upper level, he had felt quite awkward, like he was crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. But the coach reassured him, and even asked for Suga’s input from time to time, looking pleased with the boy’s responses. He was invited over again and again. Over time, it became the norm whenever he visited a Seijoh practice to find him beside the head coach. Suga nodded politely at Irihata as he took a seat.
“Sugawara-kun, it’s been a while,” Irihata greeted him.
“Hello Coach Irihata. Thanks for having me.”
Irihata waved him off. “Please. If anything, you’re doing me a favor. These boys play so much better when you’re watching.” Irihata gave him a knowing smile. “Especially the captain.”
Suga rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his cheeks tinged pink. A loud thud hit the floor before a whistle sounded. Suga peeked at the court. Oikawa was serving,and from the looks of it, he had just scored a service ace. He met Suga’s eye and gave him a wink.
“Is it too late to convince you to transfer?”
Suga laughed. “Unfortunately, I’m a Karasuno boy until the end.” Even if my heart is at Seijoh.
Irihata feigned a sigh. “Too bad. Don’t think we’ll go easy on you at the qualifiers.”
Suga grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of it. After all, Karasuno needs to get our revenge.”
Irihata chuckled. “You crows sure do have a way of keeping us on our toes.”
Oikawa bounced the ball a couple times, getting ready for his 3rd serve in this rotation. He closed his eyes, bringing the ball to his forehead as he built his concentration. They opened at the shrill tone of the whistle. Suga saw such intense focus in his gaze. It was simultaneously terrifying and very, very , attractive. Oikawa tossed up the ball in a perfect arc. The sound as it slammed onto the opponent’s side of the court untouched reverberated throughout the gym. That had to have been the most intense serve Suga had ever seen his boyfriend produce. He couldn’t help but clap in celebration.
Irihata looked between the two, a gentle smile on his face. “I have a request for you, Sugawara-kun.”
Suga looked at him curiously. “What is it, sir?”
Oikawa threw up his 4th toss. Irihata’s eyes remained fixed on the ball. He spoke softly. “He can be a bit of a handful at times. He sometimes gets so focused on his goals ahead that he forgets to take time and enjoy the here and now. And far-too-often he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders alone. Help him to slow down a little and live in the moment. And, no matter who ends up victorious at this next tournament, promise me that you’ll support him and stay by his side.”
Suga stared at the coach with wide eyes. He looked back to the match in time to watch Oikawa give a perfect toss to Iwaizumi. The ball connected with the spiker’s hand, moving with such speed and power that it tore through the opponent’s block. The whistle blew. His team won yet another point. Oikawa and Iwaizumi exchanged high-fives. Oikawa looked radiant, so completely in his element. This was where he belonged: shining on the court like a brilliant star. He pulled everyone around him in with his gravity. Suga wouldn’t even hesitate to bathe in his light, to bask in his warmth. Oikawa turned towards Suga and gave him a dazzling smile that could outshine the sun.
“I promise, sir.” Suga returned the smile. “There is no place I’d rather be.”