Akaashi's 18th (and the events that followed...)

14. The Guardian

Yes, I'm sorry, this is an Asanoya chapter. I'm dragging Iwaoi on for all it's worth. It's got a lot of pining because I love writing Iwaoi and I never want it to end. So sit back and relax, because Iwaoi is definitely coming - just at it's own stubborn pace ;)

Previously with Asanoya:
Asahi received a 'surprise' visit at his school from Nishinoya. He couldn't stay for long, but they agreed to meet up after Noya's holiday...

    Asahi pushed the rack to the side again. "It's still not the right pattern," he muttered frustratedly. He had been in the shop for almost an hour now, and was beginning to panic. He had to find this fabric today, otherwise he wouldn't have enough time to finish the sewing he needed to have completed.

    Noya had come back from the winter holidays with a tan, having been to Australia for the past two weeks. He had messaged Asahi every day with a picture of him and some sort of venomous, strange-looking, or deadly creature, be it sharks, tarantulas, sting-rays, crocodiles or adders.

    Needless to say, Asahi hadn't been pleased when Noya sent him a photograph of him with his camera pointed at the ceiling, and a small but creepy-looking spider above him, which he was pointing to. 'It's a redback! They're super-deadly!!!' he had captioned, and Asahi had typed back immediately 'Get away from it before it kills you!' despite being halfway through a lecture on central European fashion.

Asahi had told Noya to relax a little after his long trip, and to focus on school and his college exams. Noya, to Asahi's utter unsurprise, had completely ignored that advice, and asked to meet up the week after they had both gone back to school. Not that Asahi was complaining.

They had stopped for breakfast at a cafe, then wandered from shop to shop, browsing and talking about Noya's adventures in Australia, before catching a movie. It had been around one p.m. that Asahi realised he still had to look for some fabric for his examined piece, the culmination of his entire first year at Bunka. So of course, this was a massive deal.

"What pattern do you need?" Noya asked from beside him.

"I... I don't actually know. It sounds stupid but I sort of thought I would know it when I saw it." Asahi sighed. He and Noya had been looking for over an hour now, and he could feel the other's impatience barely contained. They needed to leave before Noya got bored. Asahi frantically started sifting through another rack of fabric, knocking one to the floo-

Before it could clatter to the ground, Nishinoya had swooped in from behind and caught it deftly in his hands. He held it out to Asahi with a grin. "This one," he said firmly.

"This what?"

"This fabric, for your pattern thingy," he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You don't even know what I'm making." Even so, as Asahi inspected the cloth closer - taking in the intensely bright greens, blues and oranges, arranged in overlapping triangles, translucent under the grey fabric - he had to admit, it was a brilliant fabric. He hadn't noticed it, overshadowed by the other, more opaque, block-coloured swatches.

"So?"

"Actually," he furrowed his brow, considering. "This is good."

"Really?!" Asahi shushed Noya, but nodded, taking the fabric over to the counter and paying for it, along with a dark blue, slightly washed-out denim he had already picked out for the main section of his piece.

"Can I know what you're sewing?" Noya asked for the hundredth time.

"No, I don't want to describe it to you in case it goes wrong and it isn't how I imagined. I hate that," Asahi paid, and they exited the shop. "Do you want to get anything?"

"Yeah, I could do with some new knee pads - you know how quickly I used to wear them through - well, I'm going through a pair every semester now!"

"That quick?" Asahi shuddered at the thought of how much training Noya was putting himself through.

"Yeah, Ennoshita makes me and Ryu do a lap of flying receives when we misbehave. So basically at least three times per practice, morning and afternoon."

Asahi grinned, which Noya quickly picked up on. "Hey! It's not funny," though Noya himself was smirking. He jabbed Asahi in the ribs. "What's gotten into you since you left? You're not reprimanding my bad behaviour."

"That was Daichi - I never reprimanded you for anything." Asahi smiled at the memory.

"But you never found it funny at all," Noya pressed.

"Well," Asahi shrugged. "It's just you, isn't it? I can't imagine you ever behaving for anyone. But despite how much Daichi used to shout, and Ennoshita probably now shouts, I don't think anyone really minds that you're a little loud. I don't."

"Neh, Asahi, college has really made you turn wild!" Noya cackled, his hands resting on his hips. Asahi tried to join in, but something weighed him down. "Asahi?" Noya looked at him, the closest thing to concern Asahi had ever seen written on his face. "'Sup?"

"Actually, I don't think college has turned me wild at all," he yawned for the first time that day, though it wasn't even afternoon. He hadn't gotten much sleep, drawing his design for his project piece. "In fact, I don't... I don't think I'll be staying much longer."

"Why?" Asahi felt Noya fall still.

He inhaled deeply as they reached the square in the middle of the shopping district, summoning the courage to speak aloud the worries he hadn't been able to tell anyone.

"It's too stressful. All of the teachers are so strict - yes, even more strict than Ogawa-sensei," Asahi said, reminded of his English teacher from Karasuno. He was aware that Noya knew the teacher all too well, having been frequently sent to his class to be reprimanded. "And the workload is unbearable. I'm barely getting enough sleep because I have to keep up my job to afford my rent. The students are great, but so competitive, and all of their work is so brilliant-"

"And so is yours!" Noya cut him off, stopping in the middle of the square, underneath a tree. The midday sun pierced through the naked branches, dropping dramatic shadows over Nishinoya's sharp features and making his eyes glint. "You got accepted into the most prestigious fashion college in Japan for a reason! I've only seen a bit of your work, but I think it looks amazing and I wanted to buy it, too."

Asahi's heart thundered as Noya stared him dead in the eyes. "Remember this, Asahi Azumane." He glared, and Asahi felt every part of his body tense up at the sound of his full name. "If you could go up against the Great Wall of Date Tech, and face Ushijima head-on, ace-to-ace, you can handle a few years in a tough college. Never forget the fact that, even though you're not on the court anymore, you're still my ace, and I will always have your back."

Nishinoya's gaze was fiery, and Asahi's eyes widened slightly as he was pulled, by the end of his scarf, into a hug. Asahi turned red as he realised he could feel the shorter man's racing pulse as he was gripped tighter.

"'Sahi?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me you're staying."

Asahi swallowed thickly. He knew Noya didn't just mean staying on at college.

He breathed in, slightly shakily. The pent-up anxiety, stress, and tiredness faded away with the smell of Noya - not only the overwhelmingly calming scent of the pancakes from their breakfast, but also the scent of Karasuno's gym hanging off of his coat, reminding him that he would always have someone who knew how brave he could be, and made him stay sure of himself. There would only be one Noya in his life, only one person who brought a smile to his dreariest of days, who shone with hope when Asahi had lost all of his.

"I'm staying."

(Word count: 1290)
(Total word count: 17,003)