Despite the confidence that Suga and Daichi had intended to give him, Asahi found himself nearly shaking with nerves when he approached Noya after practice to take him home. How was he supposed to, how did Suga put it, "flirt it up"? What if they were wrong and Asahi was harboring an unrequited crush that was about to become very uncomfortable for the both of them? What happened if Noya flirted back? Would they kiss? What would happen if they did kiss?
"Asahi-san, you look like you've seen a ghost," Noya informed him with a severe frown. He was sitting on the bench with his injured leg propped up on an ice pack, fidgeting with pent up energy. The team had taken the news of his injury pretty well, but that didn't stop Noya from feeling like he was letting everyone down by sitting on the sidelines.
Noya's bluntness undid a coil in Asahi's chest, and he allowed himself to relax a little. Noya was still Noya, even when he had a crush on Asahi. "I'm fine," Asahi assured him. "Ready to go home?"
Noya's eyes lit up. "My loyal steed! Ready to go on wild adventures and conquer foreign lands?"
"We're just going to your house, Nishinoya," Asahi reminded him, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. As much as he loved Noya's endless energy, it made it very difficult for Asahi to keep up with him, let alone try and follow Daichi and Suga's directions.
"Shhh Asahi-san, you're supposed to work with me here. I'm your knight in shining armor, remember?"
"Isn't the knight supposed to have a princess, not a steed?" Asahi asked. He wouldn't mind being the princess to Noya's knight. Noya saved his ass enough on a regular basis on the court, so it wasn't like things would change very much if Noya became his knight. Plus the concept of knighthood was kind of romantic, which Asahi could get behind far more than Suga's vaguely inappropriate descriptions about how relationships worked.
"Well I suppose so, but isn't the knight supposed to be carrying the princess? Some knight I am if I'm making my lady do my job," Noya scoffed, although he seemed to be blushing (much to Asahi's delight). "Anyways, you're a man."
"Well maybe modern day knighthood doesn't have such rigid gender roles," Asahi pointed out with a shrug.
"Okay, so I still get to be a knight, and you can be my gender role defying man-princess," Noya declared, standing up and hopping onto Asahi's back. "I can deal with that."
"I'm pretty sure a man-princess is called a prince, Nishinoya," Asahi reminded him.
"Shut up, I'm bad at words," Noya said. Asahi didn't have the heart to tease him any further; he was too focused on the implication of what Noya had said. Noya was the knight to his prince. Did that count as flirting? He wasn't sure if Suga would count it, but Asahi was proud of himself.
They made their way back to Noya's house bantering back and forth, making up wild tales about Noya the knight and his miraculous quests for his man-princess (he wouldn't let the term go, no matter how much Asahi corrected him) until they were both laughing and out of breath on Noya's doorstep. Asahi paused at the door, unsure of what to do next. He felt like he was walking on sunshine, with Noya clinging to him and their laughter filling the air, and he didn't want the atmosphere to dissipate just yet. Plus he was pretty sure he'd failed on his mission to "flirt it up," no matter how much fun he'd had. After all, the walk back hadn't seemed very romantic, just hilarious.
"Stay for dinner Asahi-san," Noya said, leaning forward to speak into Asahi's ear. Asahi was sure his entire body went rigid as he felt Noya's breath on his neck, and god damn it why was he so gay? He needed to figure out the whole flirting thing.
"Uh, okay," Asahi stammered. Before Asahi could think any more about how Noya had just made him feel, Noya had disentangled himself from Asahi's arms and jumped down, landing on one foot.
"Careful, you don't want to hurt your other ankle," Asahi reminded him as he dug into his pocket to produce a key and hopped to the door on one foot to unlock it. "Do you want your crutches?"
"Giving up on being my man-princess, huh Asahi?" Noya teased as he pushed the door open.
"For the last time, it's called a prince," Asahi said, entering the doorway and calling out apologies for the intrusion. He dumped their things by the door and propped the crutches up by the wall before picking Noya back up, this time in bridal style.
"Dad already knows you're coming for dinner, I texted him during practice," Noya said, squirming in Asahi's arms to get more comfortable.
"Without asking me? What if I had said no?" Asahi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"When do you ever say no to me, Asahi-san?" Noya asked. Asahi came very close to dropping Noya – as it was, he stumbled over his own feet and almost fell. He was sure his face was beet red. Noya laughed, and Asahi was pretty sure that Noya was succeeding at the flirting thing without even intending to while Asahi could barely manage to hold a conversation.
"Hey Otousan, Asahi and I are back!" Noya called out into the house, ignoring Asahi's reaction. A dark head poked out into the hallway, grinning widely.
"Welcome Asahi-kun, it's nice to finally meet you. Yuu talks a lot about you," he said. He seemed unperturbed by his son's position in Asahi's arms. "I'm making ramen, I hope that's alright."
"Thank you for having me," Asahi forced out, before ducking his head and turning to head up the stairs. "Which one is your room?" Asahi asked as he made it to the landing, looking around.
"That one," Noya said, pointing to a closed door at the end of the hall. Asahi nodded and walked over, opening the door and looking around. The room was decorated simply, with a desk and a bed and a few posters of various music artists that Noya liked dotting the wall. It was just messy enough to be endearing: there were stray pencils on the desk, the bed was hastily made, and there was a discarded manga volume lying on the floor. It was simple, straightforward, and a little rough around the edges, like Noya, and Asahi suddenly felt very embarrassed to be there. He'd never spent much time with Noya outside of school or volleyball, and the times that they did hang out they'd done casual things that did little to acquaint them to each other's personal life. Being here made him feel like he'd rushed into something he wasn't equipped to handle, a level of intimacy he wanted but wasn't sure what to do with.
"You can put me down Asahi-san, you must be getting tired after all of this," Noya said, looking up at Asahi with a smile. Startled out of his thoughts, Asahi realized that his biceps had in fact begun to burn with the strain of holding Noya's weight. But, at the same time, he didn't really want to let Noya go. Reluctantly, Asahi moved to the bed and deposited Noya on top of it. He felt empty and kind of awkward without Noya in his arms, like he didn't really have any further purpose being there, so he just stood looking at Noya in hopes that the other would give him some sort of cue. He knew that if Suga and Daichi were there they'd be rolling their eyes at him and encouraging him to do something, anything , but the fact remained that Asahi had no idea how to deal with the pounding affection in his chest. Or how to talk to people in general, really.
Luckily, Noya was Noya and had no filter or boundaries whatsoever, and quickly reached up to pull Asahi down onto the bed next to him.
"Take a load off Asahi, the man-princess is supposed to live a life of luxury, isn't he?" Noya said as Asahi toppled forward with an "oof," falling gracelessly next to Noya. Asahi couldn't even bring himself to correct Noya, too aware of where his body was touching Noya's (arm, hip, thigh, foot) as they lay side by side. "Okay, so practice today. Your serve form was good, but I think you could..."
Asahi settled in as Noya began to rattle off criticisms and pointers from practice, grateful that he didn't have to talk. It didn't take him long to start to relax into Noya's side and allow Noya's voice wash over him, melting his worries away. As much as Noya tended to criticize Asahi, Asahi always felt more secure when Noya was around, and was able to relax in a way he simply could not around other people. He responded when he was prompted to, but mostly Asahi just lay at Noya's side, enjoying the sound of the other's voice and the feeling of his presence. Affection warmed him from the inside, and he was pretty sure he could lie there for the rest of the day without feeling too bad about it.
Unfortunately, the peace was broken when the pair was called down for dinner. Asahi couldn't bring himself to be too disappointed though, because he still got to carry Noya down the stairs and enjoy the fact that he was taking care of Noya for once. Now that he knew the feelings were mutual, he didn't feel nearly as bad doting on Noya, because Noya's feelings matched his own. Even if he still had no idea how to broach the topic (is it acceptable to just confess to someone you're taking care of anyways?), the knowledge allowed Asahi to be bolder. He put Noya down as they reached the bottom of the stairs and hooked an arm around him, holding him up so he wasn't putting a lot of weight on his bad ankle.
"It helps it heal if you let it bear a little weight. Helps it get stronger," Asahi told him as they walked, slowly and haltingly, toward the dining room.
"That makes sense. You're pretty smart, Asahi-san," Noya said, smiling up at him. Asahi blushed.
"Oh, no, I just spent my whole life on sports teams with injury-prone people," Asahi muttered, embarrassed by the praise. No wonder he couldn't flirt – he could barely take a compliment.
"You don't need to downplay compliments, Asahi-san," Noya informed him. "It's okay to accept how awesome you are."
Asahi nearly tripped, taken by surprise by the blunt kindness in Noya's words. Noya had such an easy time just saying what was on his mind, Asahi marveled as he steadied himself. It made Asahi feel both happy and insecure as they walked together into the dining room. On the one hand, Noya's easy confidence in him made him feel good. On the other, if Noya was so blunt, why was it that he hadn't addressed the potential for romance between them? Was it because Suga was mistaken and Noya didn't like Asahi at all?
Before Asahi could panic too much, they made it into the dining room, where they were greeted by Noya's parents and the smell of hot food. Asahi helped Noya to his seat before pulling out a chair for himself and sitting before a steaming bowl of noodles.
"Yuu mentioned that tonkotsu ramen was your favorite, so I went out to get some broth when he told me you were coming for dinner," Noya's father said as Asahi's eyes widened at the food in front of him. Asahi exhaled a little in relief: tonkotsu broth was incredibly laborious to make, and he felt bad enough imposing on the Nishinoya household for dinner without the added effort required for his favorite meal. Then he blushed: Noya knew what his favorite food was, and had brought it up to his parents?
"No need to look so uncomfortable, Asahi-kun, my husband loves going all out for Yuu's friends, plus he gets home early enough from work to let him put some effort into cooking," Noya's mother assured him, which only made Asahi redden further. Were his emotions so obvious on his face?
"Thank you for the food," Asahi said, ducking his head and digging in before anyone could try to talk to him any more. Unfortunately for Asahi, it was not long before Noya dragged his attention back outward and into the conversation, which had turned to school and volleyball. Asahi could feel Noya's mother's eyes on him as the conversation progressed, but the evaluating judgement he had sensed in the morning had turned into an approving gaze as the night progressed, which made him feel a little better. Noya had been looking at him a lot too, but Asahi couldn't bring himself to mind that -- it made him feel a lot better about how often he stole his own glances at Noya. By the end of the meal, Asahi had relaxed enough to make his own contributions to the conversation (which had turned to hair styling after Mr. Nishinoya had mentioned that he owned a salon), and Noya was making wild plans about trying out updos he'd seen his father doing on Asahi. Noya's father had simply shaken his head ruefully and began to clear the table at his son's suggestion, clearly the steady rock of the family. Asahi had been about to stand and help with the dishes when a low rumble sounded outside and his heart plummeted.
"Was that thunder?" He asked, pulling his hands back from the table and stuffing them in his pockets to hide their shaking. Noya opened his mouth to answer when light flashed through the window and noise boomed. Asahi flinched -- he hated thunderstorms. Loud noises had always stressed him out, and thunder was no exception. Outside, he could hear the rain begin to pour down, hammering on the roof and ground.
"Don't look so nervous, Asahi-kun, we won't make you walk home in a storm," Noya's mom said, smiling at him. Noya gave Asahi a knowing look, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. Asahi's heart fluttered hopefully, knowing Noya was aware of his fear and was hopefully going to help him manage it. Noya turned to his mother.
"Can Asahi spend the night then? You have to be at court early tomorrow and Dad hates driving at night," Noya pointed out. Asahi blinked: he wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't that. Noya's mother raised her eyebrows.
"Will you get your homework done if you do that?" she asked.
"I'll make sure he does it," Asahi piped up quickly, not wanting to let the opportunity to slip away. A sleepover indicated a certain level of trust and friendship, and even if it wasn't quite the level of intimacy he wanted with Noya, he would take what he could get. "I already completed his year, so I can even help him with anything he gets stuck on," he offered when Noya's mother turned to him, looking suspicious. She studied him for a few moments before giving a relenting sigh.
"Okay, fine. Yuu's pajamas are all way too big on him, so you might be able to find something that you can wear for the night. If you leave your uniform out before you go to bed I'm sure Mr. Nishinoya will press it for you," she told him. Noya gave an excited whoop and hopped out of his seat, only to stagger as he put weight on his ankle. Asahi lunged forward and caught him before he could fall and pulled him closer to himself, sure that if he let go Noya would only hurt himself again.
"Looks like it's better if you're here anyways, Asahi-kun," Noya's mother commented with a chuckle. "Yuu might put himself in real danger if you're not here to protect him."
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the one protecting Asahi! I'm the knight to his man-princess!"
Noya's mother stared at them both for a few moments before shaking her head and picking up her bowl and walking away into the kitchen. Noya apparently took that as approval for their plan and jumped up onto Asahi, clinging to him like a monkey. Asahi froze for a few moments before realizing Noya was going to slip off of him if he didn't hold him up, and dipped his hands down to hold him up. He cupped his palms under Noya and allowed his weight to fall onto his arms, only to realize belatedly his grip had ended up in a rather... uncomfortable place.
"Damn Asahi-san, if you wanted to grab my ass you only had to ask," Noya teased, looking up at Asahi with a wicked smile.
"Yuu!" Noya's mother snapped from the kitchen, which only made Noya cackle. Asahi blushed a furious red and dropped his hands away, unsure of where to put them.
"I'm gonna fall if you don't hold me up, Asahi-san," Noya reminded him, squeezing tighter around Asahi's torso in an attempt to keep himself from falling further down. Thunder pealed overhead and Asahi whimpered, wrapping his arms around Noya's waist in what he hoped was a good compromise position. He didn't want Noya to get down at this point -- the warmth of his presence was having a calming effect on him -- but he also didn't want to make Noya uncomfortable by making any further weird grabs. Although Noya didn't really seem to mind, and he did have a really nice ass from what Asahi had felt...
He needed to stop. Now. "Let's go upstairs and do that homework, okay?" Asahi blurted out, turning around and heading for the stairs before Noya could say anything. Once they'd made it into Noya's bedroom, Asahi exhaled in relief and flopped down onto Noya's bed, allowing Noya to fall on top of him.
"Are we really going to do homework?" Noya whined, detangling himself from Asahi so he could sit up. Thunder boomed yet again and Asahi flinched.
"I could use the distraction," Asahi muttered, embarrassed by his own pathetic fears.
"Man, the thunder is really freaking you out, huh?" Noya asked. To Asahi's relief, Noya's tone sounded more curious than judgemental. Noya had seen Asahi's reaction to thunderstorms before, but they'd always had the team around to distract him from the worst of his fear in previous instances. Asahi nodded miserably.
"It's an irrational fear, I know, and it's pretty pathetic, but it still gets to me," he muttered, turning his head away from Noya to hide his face. Noya sighed.
"Hey, move, I want to sit behind you," Noya said. Asahi turned his head back to give Noya a questioning look, but complied. Asahi shifted down the bed with a grunt, and Noya clambered over him with a rustle of cloth. There was a snapping sound and Asahi could feel his hair falling loose, but before he could complain there were fingers on his scalp, rubbing and stroking. Asahi's whole body relaxed at the feeling, and he stretched his neck up to rest his head in Noya's lap. "My dad always says he likes washing people's hair at the salon because when he rubs their scalps they relax so much," Noya said, tangling his fingers in Asahi's hair. "Why don't you wear your hair down more? It looks good like this."
Asahi blushed, but decided head scratches were worth letting Noya see the telltale flush on his face. "It gets messy and in my eyes," Asahi explained. "Plus people think I'm even more of a wild guy if I do. I go from vaguely intimidating hipster to scary metalhead."
"You're too much of a teddy bear to be described as scary," Noya said with a laugh. Asahi frowned.
"Yeah, Daichi loves to remind me of that," he grumbled, remembering their conversation earlier. Noya chuckled.
"You care too much about what Daichi-san thinks, Asahi-san. Anyways, Daichi-san likes and respects you, he just wants you to be more confident in yourself," Noya assured him, running his fingers down the sides of Asahi's head towards his neck. Asahi twitched, feeling Noya move dangerously close to his ticklish areas.
"Sure, that's why he calls me a 'giant dumb teddybear,'" Asahi lamented. "So good for my self esteem." Noya snorted with laughter at that, his hands slipping down to Asahi's neck. Asahi recoiled, biting back a giggle of his own. Noya stared at him for a moment, surprised by the sudden motion, before his eyes lit up in realization.
"Asahi-san, you're ticklish ?"
"Oh no," Asahi moaned, burying his face in his hands. "Please don't."
"What was that?" Noya asked, wiggling his fingers at Asahi.
"Nishinoya, no," Asahi said, sitting up and scooching away as fast as he could to the other side of the bed.
"Nishinoya yes !" Noya pounced on Asahi, his fingers dancing over Asahi's sides and drawing out breathless laughter. Asahi writhed beneath him, conflicted if he should just submit to tickle torture or shove Noya off. He didn't want to hurt Noya, but he also didn't want to die of asphyxiation by laughter. Reaching out, he pushed his hands into Noya's exposed sides and moved his fingers experimentally. Noya froze.
"Oh no Asahi-san, that's not fair," Noya whined. Asahi grinned and moved his fingers again. Noya bit his lip, clearly trying hard not to laugh.
"Not fair, hm? I don't know, it seems pretty fair to me," Asahi replied, moving so he was facing Noya. His fingers danced over Noya's ribcage, and it took all of Asahi's concentration to not flatten his hands out and run them over Noya's sides and down his hips. This was a tickle war, he reminded himself, not some sort of porno. Noya, realizing he was being resisted, had redoubled his attack, using his small size to maneuver around Asahi's body and place his fingers where they were the most effective. Asahi barked a laugh, unable to contain himself, and wiggled away from Noya's touch. He was clearly more ticklish than Noya, which meant that if he were to win, he was going to need to rely on force. Twisting, he grabbed Noya's wrists and lifted them above his head, pushing him backwards until they both fell onto the bed, Asahi pinning Noya down.
"I win," Asahi declared, triumphant. Noya was silent, staring up at Asahi with wide eyes and burning cheeks. Asahi then realized what exactly he was doing: pinning Noya down to the bed, holding his wrists down and using his superior size to force the other into submission. Damn it, he had been trying to avoid creating a bad porno scene! Releasing Noya's arms, he scrambled backwards, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. His fingers tangled with his hair, which was slightly damp from sweat from exerting himself so much in the tickle war.
"Sorry about that," Asahi muttered. Noya blinked a few times before shaking his head and offering Asahi a wide smile.
"Nothing to be sorry for, Asahi-san," Noya said. "Are you feeling better?"
Asahi nodded. He had completely forgotten to be nervous about the thunder, caught up as he was in their little competition. "Good, let's keep it that way. I'm going to do your hair," Noya declared.
"What?" Asahi spluttered. "No, my hair is gross and sweaty."
"It'll dry out once I brush it, Asahi-san," Noya told him. "Playing with your hair sounds much more fun than homework, and it helps you relax so it's a double win." Asahi sighed but followed Noya's directions as he was told to get a brush and hair ties and sit on the floor in front of Noya's bed. They chatted amicably as Noya brushed out Asahi's hair and began to twist it into intricate dos that baffled Asahi every time he could glimpse himself in Noya's mirror. Having his hair done was relaxing, and Asahi found himself growing sleepy after about an hour of playing salon. He felt warm inside, being doted on like this by Noya, and carrying Noya around all day had taken more of a physical toll on him than he would've liked to admit.
"Sleepy, Asahi-san?" Noya asked, noticing how Asahi's head had begun to droop.
"We never got to do homework," Asahi protested, rubbing his eyes. "Also, how the heck did you manage this?" he asked, gesturing to his hair, which was collected into a braid crown. "My hair shouldn't be long enough for something like this."
"Lots of practice, Asahi-san," Noya said, leaning back to admire his work proudly.
"And lots of bobby pins," Asahi complained, pulling out a pin that had been digging into his scalp.
"True. But anyways, we should go to bed if you're so tired. We have morning practice early tomorrow, and you need to be well rested to be my steed-man-princess," Noya informed him. Asahi brought his palm to his forehead in exasperation.
"You need to come up with a single word for that. Oh wait, there is one. Prince."
"Yeah but that's no fun Asahi-san," Noya replied, pulling the pins out of Asahi's hair and collecting them in his palm.
"You're distracting me. We need to do homework," Asahi said with a yawn.
"Not while you're this tired we don't," Noya told him. "I can do homework during practice tomorrow, let's go to sleep."
"Fine," Asahi relented, stretching out with another yawn. Where are your pajamas? I'll get you some."
"Bottom drawer." Noya gestured, flopping back onto the bed. Asahi went to the dresser and rummaged through the indicated drawer, pulling out two pairs of pajama pants that were most definitely too large for Noya, and two t-shirts emblazoned with over the top phrases on the back. After examining the garments, he tossed the smaller ones to Noya and began to undress, pulling off his uniform until he stood in his boxers. Eyeing the pajamas in his hands nervously, he pulled them on and hoped they wouldn't rip. To his surprise, they fit over his body for the most part, and allowed him at least some range of motion. Part of his abdomen was revealed, and his ankles were definitely showing, but it was better than sleeping in his boxers.
"Damn, Asahi-san, you look like one of those muscle models for magazines," Noya said. Asahi turned around to look at Noya, who was sitting on his bed in his excessively large pajamas. He practically swam in the clothes, and it was nothing short of adorable.
"I'm not sure if that's a compliment," Asahi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It is. Now help me get to the bathroom so I can brush my teeth."
Once all the regular bedtime prep was completed, Asahi and Noya found themselves back in Noya's room staring awkwardly at the floor.
"So I'll take the floor, obviously," Asahi began, only to be cut off by Noya.
"No way Asahi-san, you'll end up with a crick in your neck or something and it'll affect how you play volleyball. I won't be having that," Noya declared, leaving no room for argument.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to sleep on the floor either, Nishinoya," Asahi protested weakly.
"Whoever said I was? We're going to share the bed."
"Is there enough room for that?"
"There is if we try, Asahi-san. It's all about trying," Noya said, squirming in Asahi's arms. Asahi sighed and lay Noya down on the bed. Noya burrowed under the covers and then lifted them up, gesturing Asahi in. Asahi paused briefly to admire the scene before him, because it was adorable and utterly domestic in a way he had never even dared to hope to have with Noya. Even if he couldn't figure out how to make romance happen, he was pretty happy with this. He ducked down into bed and pulled the covers over him, lying next to Noya with an inch between them. He wanted nothing more than to reach over and pull Noya into his arms, but he also was pretty sure that would be a little too bold. Thinking back to earlier, he asked himself: would Suga do that? The answer was yes, but Asahi was pretty sure Suga didn't do romance the way Asahi did (read: Suga actually did romance where Asahi just failed) anyways so "don't do anything I wouldn't do" wasn't really helpful.
"Asahi-san, you're going to fall off the bed," Noya reprimanded. "And I'm cold, come here." Before Asahi could ask what "come here" entailed, he was being pulled towards Noya, and Noya's face was nestled in his chest. He hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around Noya, resting his chin on Noya's head. He could smell the smaller boy as he inhaled and had to hold back a contented sound as he realized that Noya smelled really nice. His heart swelled with affection, and he tugged Noya a little closer and closed his eyes. This might not be everything he wanted, but for now he could be happy. Cracking his eyes a little, he looked down at Noya, whose breath had already evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. He could be happy for now, Asahi decided, but he didn't want to give this up. Which meant he needed to try even harder. A shiver of fear ran down his spine as he realized what that meant: trying harder, being even bolder, maybe even confessing his feelings. But, if it meant more of this, it would be worth it.