Alone With Him

Chapter 3

**Daichi's POV**

As I tied my shoes, getting ready to head to the gym, I heard feint mumbling coming from behind me.  I looked behind me, slightly confused, and watched as the light-haired boy whispered to himself.  "Um, Suga, are you okay?"

"Hm?  Oh, yeah," he chuckled.  "Sorry."

I smiled to myself as he continued to tie his shoes, still murmuring the inaudible words to himself.  He was so innocent, like a baby bird.  He looked up at me for a second, catching me in my gaze.  

"Can I help you?" he laughed.

"What were you saying?"

"N-nothing," he stuttered.

"Suga," I said, scooting closer to him.  "What were you saying?"  A red tint began to appear on his cheeks.  Whatever he was saying must have been embarrassing.  

"It's not important," he replied, pushing himself up off the ground.  He started walking towards the door, picking up his bag.  

"Um, Suga, your shoes are sti-" I was cut off as Suga tripped on his untied shoelace.  I put my arm out, catching him under his chest, and helped him sit up.  "Your shoes are still untied," I laughed, the blush on his cheeks had darkened and spread to the tips of his ears.  

"Th-thanks," he said, turning away from me.  This time, he was only a couple inches away from me, and I could hear him clearly.  "Bunny ears, Bunny ears, playing by a tree.  Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me.  Bunny ears, Bunny ears, jumped into the hole, popped out the other side beautiful and bold."

"Suga, isn't that the rhyme you use to teach little kids how to tie their shoes?" I asked, attempting to stifle my laugh.  

"Y-yeah, I know it's embarrassing, it's just an old habit of mine," he managed to let out a sigh, before looking back up at me.  "Go ahead, tease me about it."

"That's the cutest thing I've heard in a while," I smiled.  "You're so innocent and caring, like a child, yet you're still mature and responsible.  Promise me you won't change that about yourself.  Oh, and I won't tell anyone about this."

"Thanks,"he replied, grabbing his bag.  I stood up, putting out my hand to help him up.  He took it, as if by reflex, and continued on towards the door.  I grabbed my bag and followed the boy out of the house. 

We walked in comfortable silence for a while, listening to birds chirping around us.  Suga started humming a song, a melody I knew all too well.  Suga would hum it whenever he was happy, he made it up when we were first years, after our first match.  There were different variations to it, he never remembered the exact composition, but it always had a certain flow to it that made you want to hum along.  I yawned as I stretched out my arms.  "Sleep well?" Suga asked, looking up at me with anticipation.

"Yeah."  That was a lie.  The truth was, I couldn't sleep at all last night.  I had spent most of the night staring up at the boy who slept just a few feet away from me.  He was so precious, I wish I could've just wrap my arms around him and let the night drift, but he would never like me like that.

We soon reached the gym, the sun just above the horizon.  I unlocked the club room and started changing into my volleyball gear.  As I pulled up my shirt, I caught a glimpse of the light-haired boy doing the same.  I couldn't help but stare, a light blush beginning to form, as he stood there topless, wondering what it would be like to trail kisses over his lightly toned muscles and the curves of his back.  I snapped myself back into reality before Suga could notice and continued dressing myself.  It was getting harder and harder to hide my feelings, and offering to spend the next few days at his house was just digging my own grave.

We headed to the gym.  It was still pretty cold and Suga had forgotten his jacket in his bag.  "You okay?" I asked, giving him a concerned look.  "We can go back if you want."  He shook his head, continuing on towards the gym.  "Here," I said, taking off my jacket and handing it over to him.  He was hesitant, but eventually pulled it over himself.

"Thanks," he whispered.  As we entered the gym, I turned on the lights and headed towards the equipment room.  I grabbed a net, Suga rolling out a cart of balls, and headed out, beginning to set up for practice.  

It had been a while since I practiced with Suga, but everything worked out.  He knew m better than anyone else, knew what kind of tosses I liked, what I needed to work on, and vice-versa.  Suga was a great setter, his tosses were accurate and secure.  He has way more experience than Kageyama, but he wasn't a genius.  Kageyama was special, and although he works hard, no one works has hard as Suga does.  

We took a break about half an hour before practice was supposed to start so that we weren't too worn out.  As we sat down, we heard yelling coming from the hall.  Suga and I looked at each other and started laughing as Kageyama and Hinata raced through the door.  We stood up and watched as the pair stood, hunched over and out of breath.  "You shouldn't wear yourselves out before practice," Suga said, patting the boys on their backs. 

"Sorry, Sugawara-senpai," said Hinata.  "But I can't let him beat me."

"And yet I won," Kageyama scoffed.

Suga sighed as the pair started going at it again.  Suddenly, Hinata walked up closer to Kageyama and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's torso.  "I'm sorry, Kageyama.  I don't like it when we don't get along," he whispered, looking burying his head into Kageyama's chest.  

"It's okay, Hinata.  I'm sorry, too.  I don't like when we don't get along either," he said, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's back and kissing his forehead as he finished speaking.  

Suga walked towards me as the boys stood there hugging each other.  "Well, can't say I expected that," he whispered, smiling.  They let go of each other before Tanaka showed up, knowing they would get teased if he saw.  As everyone showed up for practice, I led stretches and training exercises.  Practice went by pretty quickly, Kinoshita, Ennoshita, and Narita were playing a 3-on-3 against Kageyama, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.  Hinata had come to help Suga, Tanaka, and I clean up the rest of the gym.  I decided to take everyone out for pork buns to eat in the park.

"I think the first years will like Nishinoya," I said to Suga as the rest of the team went around chasing each other.

"Who wouldn't?" Suga laughed.  After about an hour, the rest of the team went left, leaving Suga and I alone.  We walked along the stone path that lay around the small pond in the park.  Suga had tossed some leftover bread at the ducks, watching as they all flocked towards it.  "Want to head home?" he asked.

"Sure," I said.  I looked over at Suga, who still had my jacket on, which was a little big on him.  "I can cook tonight if you want.  Is mapo tofu okay?"

"Mapo tofu is always okay," Suga laughed.  I knew it was his favorite dish, it was the only reason I learned how to make it.  We made our way back to his house, our conversations ranging from school to aliens.  

---

"Are you sure you don't want help?" he asked as I walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I replied.  "You should practice a little more."  I had been helping him study for a math test we had tomorrow for the past hour, and we were both finally getting the hang of it.  Suga was someone who liked to study and practice as much as possible, even if he didn't need to.  I figured he would rather do that than help me cook dinner.  It took about 20 minutes to finish up preparing the food, Suga ended up watching about half way through, probably getting tired of his math practice.  "All done," I said, smiling at the boy sitting at the counter.  I placed the plate in front of him and pulled out my own chair to sit.

"Thank you," he replied, smiling as he poured the extra spicy, Sudden Death sauce on his plate.  "Itadakimasu," he exclaimed before shoveling a spoonful into his mouth.  We finished up eating and cleaned up the dishes, Suga washing the dishes as I dried them.  We walked back down the hall, into Suga's room, and parted ways to shower.  As I entered the warm water, thoughts of Suga from earlier in the morning started reappearing in my mind.  I shouldn't be thinking about my best friend like that, but I couldn't help it.  Truth be told, I think I've fallen for an angel, that is, Sugawara Koushi.