otp

stage fright ; tobi-q

the stage in front of an audience. filled with bright lights, clapping and even cheers. it brings one pride that they have managed to perform something with such perfection. or at least, close to perfection. however, that stage is also known to give some stage fright. and qq was one of them.

before performances, she would strut up and down the backstage arena, reminding herself to not screw up and going through the song in her head over and over again.

this time was no different.

she was performing a violin duet with her sister for a competition. did i mention it was the finals?

she walked up and down the holding area, violin and bow in hand, mentally singing her part of the song, as well as repeating the words "don't screw up" over and over.

her sister, on the other hand, was very relaxed about the whole thing and was tapping away on her phone, probably playing neko atsume.

"oi," kageyama called from where he was sitting.

turning to look at him, she responded, "yes?"

he stood up and walked over to her, his eyes locked onto hers the whole time. he stopped once he was a few centimeters away from her before saying, "it's going to be okay."

"of course you can say that!" she yelled, "you're not the one performing, you don't know what it's like! once you screw up on stage, that's it! your chance of winning would be gone!"

"don't you think i know that?" he asked, his voice as loud as hers, "it's the same in volleyball! when you screw up your serve, the ball might not end up on the opponent's side but on your side instead, and you give them a free point!"

"this isn't the same as volleyball, dammit!" she yelled back, "sports and aesthetics are totally different from each other!"

he grabbed her by the shoulders and said gently, "look, it's going to be okay. i've heard you play before, and it's pretty good."

"are you kidding me?" qq said, "my playing sucks ass."

"you're gonna do fine," kageyama reassured her, "believe in yourself. you can do it."

she gave him a small smile before saying, "thank you."

extended ending:

a few hours later, the results were posted online.

she and her sister had won silver.

"i told you you could do it," kageyama said.

she gave him another huge grin and said, "thanks, tobio-chan."

"s-shut up," was his answer.

word count: 389
date published: 070417