Third Pov
Kei went down and found Natsu and Shoyo having a polite conversation with Keishin.
"Ah, there you are! Let's go to the teachers lounge, I wanna talk to you three" Keishin told them, guiding the high schoolers to the teachers lounge where Ittetsu was already waiting and doing paperwork. Kei and Shoyo were anxious, had the two not hidden it well enough? When they got to the teachers lounge Ittetsu spoke up.
"Calm down, you're both so tense! You're not in trouble!" He said with a wide smile on his face.
"We brought you here because we have a new tactic you might wanna try in volleyball.... It requires you practicing together on and off the court though" Keishin added in, both of the teenagers were still confused though.
"What if we could make a second infamous duo on Karasunos team? Of course there are more than one already, but this duo would be the second one Hinata is in... Hinata needs to have more control of the ball, Kageyama won't let him have that and Sugawara isn't on the court enough and can't do the quicks with him that we utilize. But what if we made a second duo, a third secret setter? I know you've never set a ball Tsukishima, but this will drastically improve both of your volleyball careers.... Colleges are already looking at you both as possible candidates for full rides, I wasn't supposed to tell you... But you two are the only students on Karasunos team with the possibility of full scholarships" Ittetsu said, making Shoyo's jaw drop. No, the orange haired boy wasn't that smart, but a full scholarship just because of his volleyball ability? He couldn't believe it.
"Wait, so you're telling us that even Kageyama, the king of the court, hasn't gotten an opportunity like that?!" Kei asked in shock, it was a great feeling to know he was the first pick for Shoyo and Colleges though.
"Correct. They find him to be too much of a leader, plus most colleges don't want a setter who controls the ball like him. They think it would only become a restriction for the players... Anyways, if Tsukishima learns how to set to you properly.... Hinata, you could be ace as soon as you both can pull off proper spikes" Keishin told them, but then looked to Ittetsu. The teens knew that something was wrong.
"Also, we both think you two hanging out together will be good. After all, Hinata has never stood up for himself or others like what he did in the gym earlier. Because I work here, I see how bullied he gets during school. I think that being around you will help him. It'll be good for you both because you might learn something from him, and he'll finally be the bright, smiling, slightly cocky Hinata we had at the beginning of the year" Ittetsu added on, making Kei look down to Shoyo. The blonde knew he'd be asking him about the bullying later.
"So, that's it? We're not in trouble? You just want us to become a duo and practice sets with each other?" Kei asked, causing both the adults to nod.
"We've already vaguely informed Daichi and Sugawara on our master plan, Sugawara is gonna teach you how to set" Keishin told him, but then Shoyo got excited. Kei found it absolutely adorable, and while he kept his straight face up for the sake of not just blatantly exposing his feelings in front of the coach and teacher, he still looked at Shoyo in happiness at his smile. Of course they saw that. It was clear as day and as bright as Shoyo's smile, the two had to squint to see.
"That means Kenma can come and help Tsukishima learn! It'll be amazing!" Shoyo told them, but the two were confused on who Shoyo was talking about.
"Kozume Kenma! The setter from Nekoma! He sets to me all the time, we're friends! I go see him sometimes on the weekends, he's been a big reason of why my jumps have gotten higher! You'll get along with him too, he's quiet and he likes most of the same things you do" Shoyo told Kei, taking his school uniform sleeve into his hand. Kei just hoped that Kozume didn't like the ball of sunshine like he did.
"Wait.... So you're friends with enemy setters now?!" Keishin asked in shock.
"Actually, I'm friends with almost everyone we've played, not just the setters! I'm friends with Tooru Oikawa and most of Aobajohsai, Kozume Kenma and all of Nekoma's team, Kaname Moniwa from Date Tech and most of that team too! All of the setters love to play with me and their teams take me in to help me practice sometimes! Natsu has come with me to all of those practices too! She loves volleyball just like me. I'm not friends with the enemy. We're only enemies on the court, off of it? I can be friends with whoever I want!" Shoyo said, but Keishin's jaw had dropped. Shoyo was showing the coach his contact list. All of the members from Nekoma, Tooru Oikawa really was in his contacts.... Date Tech was in his contacts! They all had little initials of their schools next to their names too.
"Hinata, you're gonna kill our coach if you keep surprising him" Kei told him, but Keishin already looked like he died.
"Hinata, you're not human.... " Keishin said quietly, that made Ittetsu laugh. Shoyo was confused, he wanted an explanation.
"Hinata.... Karasuno has never been friends with other schools, only rivals and acquaintances at most. Because of these connections you've made to other teams, these schools will now be more inclined to have practice games with us. Not only are you rising us back to the top volleyball wise like all those years ago, but the school is getting more recognition from your spikes in games, you're even making our school get friends for the court.... Ukai must think you're a God or something" Ittetsu told him, chuckling at how Keishin looked defeated.
"Oh, that's it? I thought I did something bad. Anyway, Tsukishima, Natsu is asleep and my arms hurt.... Would you mind holding her?" Shoyo asked, he was already taking her into his arms. Kei held her close and it made Shoyo happy. They waved goodbye to the teacher and coach.
"Do you need me to drive you home? I know you brought your bike, but I don't think you'll be able to ride it with her asleep like this" Kei told Shoyo as they walked out, a sincere tone in his voice. Keishin and Ukai watched them leave and smiled.
"Those two are definitely in love... " Ittetsu told the coach, but the blonde wasn't listening. He pulled the teachers face to his and kissed him gently.
"Just like us, huh?" Keishin asked the dark red male.
"Y-Yeah" He replied back. The two teens were walking to Kei's car. Natsu was put in the back seat and buckled in by Kei while Shoyo made sure to put an extra lock on his bike. He would get it on Monday. Kei and Shoyo got in the front seats and the blonde drove to the others house.
"Do you want to stay the night? It's late and I have the whole bed.... It's okay if that's not fine with you, I have futons and stuff too. I just figured it's not safe to drive in the dark even if it is only ten at night... " Shoyo said, he was rambling as Kei got a water bottle from the fridge. The actions made Kei chuckle.
"I'm moving in tomorrow anyway, I might as well get used to sleeping in the same bed as you" Kei told him, he hadn't even thought about if there was a third bedroom. Shoyo blushed lightly. He hadn't planned on them sharing a bed once he moved in, but the comment in general made him flustered for some reason.
"I-I have a third room... If you don't want to sleep in the same bed as me" He told him, going to fiddle with pots and pans as neither of them had properly eaten a dinner. Kei wasn't stupid, he could tell Shoyo was embarrassed and blushing, the sight made him proud.
"Don't matter to me whether I sleep in my own room or in a bed with you. A bed is a bed after all, it's not like we'd be doing anything inappropriate" Kei told him, then walked with the sleeping little girl in his arms to put her in bed. Shoyo stood in the doorway with a watchful eye as Kei gently put Natsu in bed. He had covered her up and tucked her in gently, petting her head lightly as he admired the little girl. Shoyo walked away, knowing she was in good hands. Kei saw him walk away and then gently kissed Natsu's forehead, the girl was so precious when asleep and he smiled.
"Sleep well Natsu, I'll be here in the morning" He whispered to her quietly, but the girl woke up slightly.
"Make big brother happy.... He deserves it" She mumbled half asleep, then turned over onto her other side to drift back into her slumber. Kei let her sleep for a moment before getting up and leaving her room, the thought of her giving him a blessing to make Shoyo happy made him feel more at ease. Kei heard the quiet rustling in the kitchen and leaned against the doorway to watch Shoyo make a simple small meal for them both to eat for dinner.
"Does your sister talk in her sleep?" He asked.
"Yeah, she does that sometimes, did she say anything?" Shoyo asked, not even flinching at the sound of Kei's voice from behind him.
"Is she honest when she talks in her sleep?" Kei asked, making Shoyo nod.
"Extremely, she told me I looked like a dying rat when I had stayed up for two nights once... That was in her sleep and she was really blunt about it. She's never lied in her sleep, so she's not much of a polite girl when she talks in the first place though, so it was expected" He explained, causing them both to chuckle.
"She told me something.... She told me to make you happy because you deserve it" Kei said, looking back to Natsu's room as he smiled gently. It wasn't a wide smile, it was a tiny one. The smile was genuine though. The teen had stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Kei with wide eyes.
"She.... She said that?" Shoyo asked as he wiped his hands and started smiling. Shoyo had been feeling strange around Kei for weeks, he was starting to paint the clear picture of it being love as he spent more time with him. The orange haired boy knew he said he would never date a teammate, he had been telling himself that for years. He didn't want to mess up the teams dynamic, so he kept telling himself that, but how could he keep that promise when a muscular, blonde haired king stood right in front of him? Shoyo loved Kei's body, but his quick witted remarks and sarcastic smirks got the best of the decoys heart. He fell when he saw that genuine tiny smile of his for the first time, but Kei didn't show any signs of loving him. Shoyo hated how his new roommate had no feelings for him, but that would make it easier. When Kei eventually left, Shoyo knew it would be better if they didn't go any farther than friendship.
"Yeah, she did. Looked me in the eyes half asleep and said 'make my big brother happy, he deserves it' then rolled over and passed out under her comforter" Kei chuckled at the end of his sentence, it made Shoyo's heart skip a beat. He smiled and set up the table for them to eat, which caught Kei's attention.
"You know you don't have to cook for me if you don't want to" He said, scratching the back of his head because he had the smaller boy cook for him.
"Don't say such nonsense. How could I not cook for you? You're moving in to help me with Natsu, getting a job to help me with bills, and you even helped me several times today when you could've ignored my underlying panic. Making you dinner is the least I can do since it's what I'm best at" Shoyo told him, taking off his apron and sitting down across from him. They ate in silence and Kei noticed Shoyo had been staring, but he ignored it.
"What size pants do you wear?" He asked curiously, causing Kei to choke on rice for a moment.
"W-What?!" He asked with a blush on his face.
"You need pajamas to wear. It's gonna be hot out all night, my window is gonna be cracked open and since you said you'll be sleeping in my room I wanna know what size sweatpants you wear... I figured you might not want a shirt since you're sweating from practice still" Shoyo told him, still eating his food.
"You can shower or take a bath if you want to as well" He added on, still eating like nothing as Kei looked down at his food to hide his red face. The blonde couldn't hide his feelings around Shoyo, it's was horrible how much of an embarrassed mess he was at that moment and the other boy hadn't noticed. Kei told him his pants size and continued eating, keeping his face down because it was still dark red.
"Oh, I have all sorts of clothes in that size in my closet" Shoyo sounded relieved about it and Kei gave him a curious look.
"Why do you have my clothing size in your closet?" He asked quietly, looking up from his food as his one leg bounced underneath the table in anxiety. He was desperately hoping Shoyo hadn't been hiding a boyfriend from the team because if he was, Kei didn't know if he would cry out of anger or upset.
"I had a... Friend who spent a lot of time here a while ago... He doesn't come around anymore, I lost contact with him but I still have clothes from him here" Shoyo said with a nervous chuckle, which made Kei's heart drop slighlty in his chest. Shoyo and Kei finished their dinners, the blondes nervous habit started to shine through when he had nothing to keep his hands busy with. He started fiddling with his fingers, he didn't really know what to do with his hands. Shoyo noticed, but didn't say anything because he didn't want to make Kei even more nervous. He finished the dishes and then looked to Kei with a smile.
"C'mon, I'll grab the clothes from my closet and you can shower" Shoyo explained, walking from the kitchen towards his room. He followed behind the smaller boy and he couldn't help the tiny smile the popped up on his face. Just being near the teen was enough to make him happy, but being in his house, sleeping next to him? He felt amazing. Shoyo pulled out a pair of red sweat pants and a white T-shirt.
"I'm not sure if the shirt will fit or not, but you can try it" He told him, causing Kei to ruffle his hair. They stood there in an awkward but comfortable silence for a moment before Kei left for the bathroom, hiding a dark blush as he left after realizing he just ruffled his hair. Shoyo watched him leave and sat on his bed, hiding his dark red face in his hands.
"I can't keep feeling like this... He's here for Natsu, not me. Get your head on straight Shoyo, you can't keep internally gay panicking over him when he doesn't even show signs of liking you" He mumbled to himself, trying his best to just tell himself that it wasn't a crush. Shoyo kept telling himself that he didn't feel like that for anyone anymore. He couldn't feel like that for Kei Tsukishima when he didn't feel the same. It wouldn't be right to sleep next to him if he felt like that and Kei didn't reciprocate his feelings. He stood up and shook off his ragged emotions, his feelings had always been able to radiate off of him and he needed to shake away the nervousness, the anxiety, he needed to shake off all that upset of his feelings being unrequited. He pulled on his own pajama pants and started hiding the clothes again, he sat on the bed with one of the shirts holding it close to him. His phone buzzed at that moment, it was a message from the owner of the shirt.
From: Ex
To: Shoyo
Re: N/A
Hey Shoyo, are you still up?
He put the shirt down slowly and picked up his phone. He had kept in contact with his ex, but he'd never really talked with him unless it concerned Natsu.
To: Ex
From: Shoyo
Re: N/A
Yeah, what's up? Is everything alright?
Shoyo waited for the response and looked at the shirt. He mentally told himself 'fuck it' and put it on. The Decoy went to the couch and sat down on one end as he got a reply.
From: Ex
To: Shoyo
Re: N/A
It isn't anything major, but my school is having a practice game with yours soon. Do you still have my old red shirt that I wore? I know you've got my clothes there still because I go there to see you. I just wanted to make sure it was there.
Shoyo looked at the back of the shirt he was wearing, seeing the familiar writing on the back. He sighed and gave a reply.
To: Ex
From: Shoyo
Re: N/A
Yeah, ironically I'm wearing it. My friend is moving in and I didn't have a clean shirt, this was the first thing I grabbed. I'll make sure to wash it and give it to you at the practice game.
Shoyo was about to take the shirt off and find a new shirt when he decided against it. He was already wearing it anyway, he decided to just keep it on. He would put it in the laundry for the wash tomorrow morning. Shoyo watched TV quietly as he often just texted back and forth with his ex, just catching up with him because it mattered. The other teen had been worried about Natsu too, so the conversation was about her. Shoyo had replied consistently until Kei got out of the bathroom, Shoyo was a blushing mess at how the shirt fit tightly around Kei's body and how well the pants fit around his hips.
"I'll bring my stuff here tomorrow morning, I can unpack another day. It'll be nice out tomorrow, so we should go outside" Kei told him as he sat down next to Shoyo, his arms resting on the back of the couch. Shoyo didn't know if he could handle Kei being so close with such a tight shirt, but he looked down to his lap to avoid staring.
"That'll be good, Natsu needs to get outside more" He replied as he felt his phone buzz. He looked at the message, but never replied and turned his phone on silent.
"You aren't gonna reply to that?" Kei asked, sounding uninterested even though secretly he wanted to know. He wanted to know who was messaging the boy he was in love with at such a late hour. Shoyo shook his head and unconsciously rested against Keis side, watching the news boredly.
"I can just tell them I fell asleep in the morning, we're gonna be living together so we might as well talk to each other. You know, get to know each other a little" Shoyo told him, looking up at Kei with a small smile.
"Sure, if that's what you want... Should I just say random things or are you gonna ask me questions?" Kei asked, his arm slowly falling off the back of the couch to drape over Shoyo's shoulder. It could have been unintentional, but to Kei it wasn't. He didn't mind Shoyo leaning into him and he took the opportunity that he saw to hold the smaller teen in some way, in a way Shoyo didn't mind either. He felt Kei drape his arm over his shoulders slowly and even if it was an accident, he let it happen. How could he not? They were both crushing hard on each other and all they both wanted was to scream that they felt feelings for each other, but both of them were scared out of their minds to try.
"Well, tell me some things you like? Favorite color, animal, sport, class, that stuff... Just general information" Shoyo told him, sneakily moving a little closer to the blonde with a smile.
"I like orange and green, they're pretty colors... Dinosaurs, cats, I don't really have a favorite sport, and I'm good with English... I'm questioning my sexuality, I enjoy music if it wasn't obvious, reading... I study every night of the school week during lunch, Yamaguchi is the only person I'd never date on the team. There's a lot about me you don't know, you gotta be specific" Kei told him, dropping the subtle hints that he was entirely gay for the boy next to him.
"You're questioning your sexuality? So like.... You'd date guys?" Shoyo asked, secretly excited. Kei nodded his head, they continued talking till late at night until Shoyo fell asleep on Kei's shoulder. The blonde picked him up and carried him to bed, covering him with the blanket and climbing in beside him to fall happily asleep peacefully holding Shoyo close.