Only Love

The way Atsumu and Kiyoomi fall in love is completely unlike either of them. Their story started slowly, neither of them coming to terms with what they felt for the other. They played off their feelings until it got too much to ignore. That's when they realised, oh I might be a little in love with him.

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Miya Atsumu is often described as a whirlwind. He bursts into people's lives and they are left with no choice but to be dragged along with him, to experience his radiant joy, his unending love. Miya Atsumu is used to making impulsive decisions. He never cared about the consequences of his actions. He knows he is impulsive. People have told him before. He himself sees it in the way he runs his mouth around others, in the way he provokes opposing players. Even so, he never bothers to watch his words or think about their consequences. His life follows the principle of acting first, thinking later.

But this time is different. This time, the time Atsumu realises that he has come to develop feelings for Kiyoomi, that their rivalry turned friendship somehow evolved into a crush. Atsumu doesn't want to rush along headfirst and do something he'll regret later. He decides that for the first time in his twenty three years of living, he wants to think before acting.

So he thinks. He thinks of the time he first saw Sakusa. Sakusa, for some reason, couldn't stand him. Maybe it was because he'd overheard Atsumu talking about his freaky wrists, maybe it was because he didn't like loudmouths in general. He'll never know. He thinks about all the games they've played against each other, standing on either side of the net, refusing to back down. He thinks of the time Sakusa joined MSBY Black Jackals. Sakusa still couldn't stand to be around him. He could see it in his tense shoulders, the way he clenched his jaw when Atsumu got too near or spoke too loudly. Atsumu hadn't liked how Sakusa was the only person who staunchly refused to warm up to his personality. He'd made it his mission to get some reaction out of Sakusa. He thinks of the stupid nickname he'd given him to rile him up-Omi. He thinks about how "Omi" went from being a mocking nickname to one laced with fondness. He thinks about how over the months, they'd become closer to each other. He thinks of all the moments he's spent with Omi, just the two of them alone, at restaurants, at either one's apartment. He thinks of how safe he feels when he's with Kiyoomi, how the insecurities that gnaw at him lay dormant when its just the two of them.

Atsumu thinks of all the things they've been through together, starting from the moment they met. He decides he doesn't want to lose the connection he has with Kiyoomi. He doesn't want to be impulsive and let his feelings open a fissure between them. So he waits. He keeps his little thoughts to himself and waits.

Sakusa Kiyoomi is the exact opposite of Miya Atsumu. He prides himself on his strict routines, his immaculate lifestyle, his cleanliness. He takes pride in his ability to remain calm and think rationally no matter what the situation is. People describe him as a rock, steady in his beliefs, unwilling to adjust to bossy people. But just like everyone else, he too was dragged along by the hurricane that was Miya Atsumu.

The realisation that he likes Miya doesn't come as a surprise to him. He'd expected it. Somewhere between the setter memorising his cleaning routines and making sure he's always okay in crowded spaces, somewhere between him always keeping extra hand sanitisers and masks on him in case Kiyoomi ever forgets, somewhere between their walks home, Kiyoomi is hit with the faint realisation that he might have a crush on Atsumu. 

He would catch himself huffing out amused breaths at Atsumu's lame jokes. During practice, he would catch himself staring at Atsumu a beat too long when he sets the ball in a perfect arc for it to slam satisfyingly against his palm and he would shake his head to clear his mind of all these thoughts. All those times, Sakusa grew more and more aware of his developing crush on the infuriating setter.