Jealousy Tears

Tears and Takeda.

     "Keishin!" Yelled a voice. The yellow-haired retail worker looked up from his magazine and spotted the wrinkled forehead of his grandfather.
"Yeah, what's up?" He replied as he got back to work.
"I'm back from the walk-in clinic. They told me I have an ear infection and gave me some antibiotics for the next week." An ear infection, he thought. As if his hearing wasn't bad enough.
"That sounds rough. I hope the medication works." In reality, he couldn't care less if Ikkei's infection went away. He just wanted to be left alone. Hours of boredom and emptiness continued, and he went home. Nothing he did felt rewarding, as he knew he'd have to do it all over again. The only things that had any emotional impact on his world was the group of rowdy boys who gathered around his shop a few times a week. Unfortunately, they always bought meat buns, so Ukai was unable to complain.

     Besides the normal clients, there'd been a few people who visited rarely. A relatively short man with black hair and glasses caught Ukai's attention. He often wore a green tracksuit, but didn't look athletic in the slightest. A peculiar figure, he stood at no more than 5 feet and 5 inches. Despite his small stature, he could light up a room with his smile. When bored, Ukai thought often about this stranger.

     Several days passed with no signs of the black haired man. Ukai started to get distracted by his work and the man slipped his mind. He was starting to fall back into the loop of boredom and apathy. This time was particularly bad, but things changed soon.

     The door opened, and Ukai took his obligatory glance to whoever had just entered. Black hair. Green tracksuit. Spectacles. It was him. Immediately, the stranger turned to Ukai.
"Apologies for the interruption, sir, but I have an important question!"
"Yes?" The store worker said apprehensively.
"Will you help me coach the Karasuno Boys' Volleyball Club?"
It was so silent you could hear a fly land. Ukai couldn't think for a moment. After regaining his composure, he answered.
"No."
"Pardon?"
"No thank you."
"Okay sir! Thank you for your time."
The black haired man exited swiftly.

     Over the next dozen hours, Ukai couldn't think of anything else. He lost sleep over that exchange. How could I be so stupid, he thought. He looked so disappointed. The next morning, he got to work quickly. The day flew by, and all the faces of the people he served blurred as he could only think of the minute-long conversation. No thank you. Those words bounced around his skull like a rubber ball. Later, he was almost ready to close up when the door opened. He looked up. Black hair. Glasses. Different tracksuit. Ukai caught himself noticing someone's outfit change for once.
"Hello again, sir!"
" Welcome back." The man's hair was messier than normal.
"I've come to visit again and ask to you reconsider your decision. I know nothing useful about volleyball, and the boys need a real coach." He came back, thought Ukai. He's persistent.
"Again, no. I have better things to do." The man looked taken aback.
"Oh my gosh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Ittetsu Takeda, and I teach at Karasuno high school, as well as managing the volleyball team in my spare time."
"Keishin Ukai. Nice to meet you."

    After turning Takeda down for the 2nd time, Ukai felt even worse. The short man looked even more upset today. More sleep lost. More faces blurred. Repeatedly rejecting Takeda's requests progressively felt worse. As he opened a magazine, he was finally able to distract himself from the fact that he was at his breaking point. He would cave soon.

     The next day, Ukai prepared to accept Takeda's request. All day, he pictured Takeda's happiness when his asking finally payed off. Once he closed, he started breathing deeply in preparation for the short man's visit. Minutes passed. Nothing. Even longer went by. Nothing. Ukai felt like punching himself. Did Takeda stop trying? Did he reject him too much? Everything went wrong in his head. After locking up the shop, he broke down. The tears wouldn't stop. Only a few hours of sleep succeeded his breakdown.

     Once he awoke, his mind immediately wandered to Takeda. Would he be back? Was it too late? A man of pride, Ukai always held his chest high and did his best not to ask for help. This means that going to talk to Takeda was out of the question, as he always wanted to seem strong. Hours passed. Nothing. This wasn't too worrying, as Takeda showed up late due to practice hours.

     Closing time. While sweeping, he heard the door open. Having anticipated this moment, he looked over and locked eyes with Takeda.
"Hello," Ukai says, trying to keep his cool. Takeda got down on his knees. He was desperate.
"Please sir, we have a tournament coming up in a few months and we cannot practice properly if we don't have a coach!" This was the last resort. If this didn't work, Karasuno had no hopes of making it anywhere.

     "Alright," Ukai groaned. Inside, he couldn't have been more excited, but he chose to hide it.
"Really?" Takeda exclaimed as he got back to his feet.
"Yes."
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Takeda squealed. He grabbed Ukai's hand in excitement and was quickly shut down.
"My pleasure," Ukai said as his face twisted into an involuntary smirk.

     After Takeda left, Ukai cried. A lot. But this time it was tears of joy. He had put a smile on the face of the purest man he'd ever seen. It felt better than ever. Unfortunately, he had gotten into the habit of sleeping at the worst hours. Yet the night after he accepted was the best sleep he'd ever had. Doing things felt rewarding.
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Hello! This is the first fic I've ever written. It stemmed from me reading a friend's fic and then wanting to write my own angst. I have always thought Takeukai is one of the most underrated ships in the show, so I wanted to show them some love (for now at least😈).

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter if you read it, and that you enjoy my future content! I have no schedule, but once a week sounds pretty good for me since it means I'll have time to write, reread, and rereread it. Thank you!

-Ringss