Guarded (Sugawara x OC)

Chapter 7

***

"Hey Machi, what are you doing tomorrow night?" Machi was sitting near the edge of the gym, chugging a bottle of water. Today's club had been especially rough; Nakagawa made everyone run ten laps before completing a series of increasingly difficult sparring drills. Half the club was still passed out on the mats, the other half had limped out of the gym on wobbly legs. Nakagawa decided to use this chance when everyone else was too exhausted to interrupt as his moment to shine. He had squared his shoulders and walked with as much purpose as he could muster over to the girl. She glanced up at him now, and gave her shoulders a shrug, "Not much, why do you ask?"

"I thought we could hang out after practice, maybe grab something to eat at that ramen place you like?" He did his best to keep his voice steady, but his hands were shaking slightly. So much for confidence.

"Sure, they do have the best food in town." Machi hummed, "Should I ask Kaido if he wants to come too, he loves their spicy tofu." She glanced around the gym looking for the annoying ball of energy, who seemed to have disappeared for the first time since she'd known him.

Nakagawa twirled a water bottle in his hand to hide how shaky they were, "No, uh, I thought it could be just the two of us." When she didn't respond right away, he thought for sure he had ruined his chance, but he let out a small sigh of relief when she finally answered, "Sure, sounds like fun." Beaming, Nakagawa reached a hand out to help her off the gym floor, which she gladly took, her muscles still a bit achy from the second training session of the day. Throwing her belt into her bag, she jogged off the mat calling over her shoulder as she went, "I gotta go pick up Tadashi, but I'll see you tomorrow Nakagawa-Senpai."

Flying as high as a kite, the captain watched her leave with an astonished expression. He had finally asked her out, and didn't die a horrible, embarrassing death afterwards. Once she was out of sight he turned to Kaido, who had been not-so-subtly eavesdropping from behind a punching bag, a goofy grin on his face. "Alright man you did it!" Kaido gave Nakagawa a high five, "Now you just gotta play it cool tomorrow and not fuck it up!"

"Gee, thanks Kaido, your advice, as always, is spot on."

"What can I say,it's a gift."

***

When Machi pulled open the door to the volleyball court she was glad to find the team was still practicing. Trying not to bring too much attention to herself, she left her school bag by the door and snuck over to sit in one of the empty chairs near the middle of the court. But her sudden appearance did not go unnoticed. Tadashi had just stepped forward to practice his spike but gave his cousin a quick wave first, happy that she was able to watch the last part of their practice. Tsukki and Ennoshita both glanced over too, the latter made a nervous squeaking sound that made Tsukki snicker. Suga, who was meant to be setting the ball for the spikers, followed his teammate's gaze over to the edge of the court, saw Machi waving back at Tadashi, and forgot what he was doing long enough that he felt the volleyball fall through his hands and bounce off his face painfully.

"That's a nice new style of setting Suga, but maybe stick to the regular way, fewer nosebleeds." Daichi yelled across the court just for the joy of seeing his friend's ears turn bright pink, which they did.

"Sorry Yamaguchi, let me try that set for you again..." Suga murmured, keeping his eyes focused solely on the task at hand, and not on the new audience that suddenly made him very nervous. Machi made an effort to show her support for the setter and the rest of the team, but she couldn't help but think the last ten minutes of their practice was entirely more entertaining than productive. Tanaka and Ennoshita were both so afraid of her watching they missed their last two spikes entirely, and Suga's hands were so sweaty he kept dropping the ball and chasing after it as it rolled away. Daichi ran a hand over his face in exasperation, and eventually just gave up, calling the end of practice early, both for his friend's dignity and his own sanity.

"Let's just hope you all got those nerves out of your system now before the game tomorrow." The captain groaned, shoving a towel at Tanaka, "It may only be a practice game, but this is our chance to show a major team we're still a threat."

Machi joined the team on the court now, handing Tadashi a bottle of water, who took it gratefully. Eyes sparkling with anticipation for their first game, he turned to Machi "You're coming to the game tomorrow, right? We could use all the support we could get!"

"Tomorrow?" Machi felt her heart sink to her stomach with dread. "Shit, I have plans tomorrow. Nakagawa-Senpai and I are going to dinner after practice, I didn't even think that it was the same night as your game...shit, I'm so sorry Tadashi!" She was a terrible friend; after promising Tadashi she would support him and Tsukki at their matches, now she had to watch as her cousin's shoulders drooped in disappointment. And it was all her fault. Nor was he the only one suddenly less enthusiastic about tomorrow's game.

"You won't be there?" Suga's voice was downcast, a frown etched across his face. Nakagawa. Why does that name sound familiar?

Feeling even worse, Machi tried to think of a quick solution. "I can talk to Nakagawa at club tomorrow, I bet we could make the second set if we ate really fast."

"Don't worry about it Harada-San, we'll have plenty of games." Daichi gave her a reassuring smile, but his eyes glanced over to Suga, who was thinking the same thing. Subtly, Daichi decided to pry for the information they were both wondering about, "And besides, you shouldn't rush through your date with this Nakagawa guy, I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that."

Machi's brow furrowed with confusion, "What date? Senpai is the captain of the martial arts club, we've known each other for years. It's just dinner with a friend." The shrug of her shoulders and her nonchalant response put Suga's worry at ease, at least somewhat. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "Still, don't worry Machi, there will be plenty of chances for you to watch us play. It's only a practice game after all."

Tadashi nodded in agreement, hoping to try and mask how disappointed he was; he didn't want her to feel worse than she obviously already did.

Still feeling like the scum of the earth, Machi nodded anyway, following the volleyball players off the court. Daichi, Tadashi, and Tsukki left to change back into their uniforms, but Suga hung back, taking his time with gathering the discarded water bottles.

"You know you really shouldn't worry about missing the game. We know if you could be there you would, and that's more important." Suga knew his words wouldn't do much to reassure her, but he tried anyway. He didn't like seeing her so disheartened. As expected, she sighed heavily and shook her head.

"I know...but it's the first game, and I promised Tadashi I would be there."  She had begun helping him gather the water bottles now, staring down at the one in her hand like if she held it long enough it would reveal the answer to all her problems.

"He knows you'll be cheering him on, even if you aren't there in person." A hand reached out to brush her ponytail off her shoulder, making Machi jump. Suga had stepped closer without her noticing, his hand gently twirling the end of her ponytail. Her gray-green eyes met his, an unreadable expression softening his features. He leaned forward, his equally soft voice whispering in her ear, "I hope he isn't the only one you'll be thinking of."

Oh God, why did I say that? Suga internally chastised himself. I'm gonna kill Daichi for even suggesting this, I wouldn't be surprised if she punched me in the face right now. So much for being friends.

Yet the spectacular blush that bloomed on Machi's face was enough to quiet his inner monologue and make him think Daichi might have actually been right about her feelings towards him after all, which only made his own face turn a bright shade of red. Taking a step back, Suga gave a small chuckle to hide his embarrassment and threw his bag over his shoulder. Clearing his throat loudly, he gave her a quick wave before walking towards the exit, "Have fun on your 'not-date' Machi." Face still burning, he had almost reached the gym door when he heard her mutter, almost too quiet for him to make out,

"I'll be cheering for you too, Suga."