always...

chapter 21 - yakunoya

as yaku got ready for bed, he slipped on his favorite maroon t-shirt, but noticed that there was still some flour dusted on both of the sleeves and the hem.

with a slight chuckle, he brushed off the powder that was spattered across his shirt, recalling how it had gotten there in the first place.

flashback - yakunoya date :)

yaku had just arrived at the train station in miyagi where he had agreed to meet nishinoya for their date. he looked down and checked his watch. 6:57pm.

with a short nod, yaku decided to call noya and let him know he had arrived, but as soon as he took out his phone, he heard a voice yell at him from across the station.

"MOORRRIIIII!!" noya bellowed.

blushing furiously, yaku managed a slight wave at the quickly approaching libero who had greeted him so excitedly.

"hey yū! so, may i ask...what do you have planned for us tonight?" yaku asked, a small smile forming on his face to accompany his rose-tinted cheeks.

"first. go-karts. also, text your parents because you probably won't get back to tokyo until late," nishinoya answered with a sly wink.

yaku did as nishinoya told him and the two of them took a bus to the go-kart track which was only 15 minutes from the station.

when they arrived at the go-kart place, nishinoya immediately grabbed yaku by the wrist and led him inside the complex. they paid for two karts, signed some waivers, and received their helmets. before he knew it, yaku was strapped into a go-kart, having never driven before, with nishinoya in the kart adjacent to him.

"wait! yū! i don't actually know how to drive..." yaku blurted out, rubbing the back of his neck.

"oh! don't worry about that, frankly i don't really know how to drive either, but that's what makes this fun," noya answered with a slight smirk.

"i-okay...but if crash, i'm blaming you!" yaku exclaimed.

"alright fine, but i'll race you around the track and if i win, you owe me boba," noya challenged.

"and if i win?" yaku asked.

"i'll let you kiss me," noya answered automatically, causing yaku's face to heat up as he turned away in embarrassment. "oh, calm down! i'm just joking! ...or am i? guess we'll just have to find out," noya finished with a flirty shrug.

goddamnit he's so cute.

the two liberos made their way to the start of the track before nishinoya started the countdown.

"okay! 3...2...1...GO!" noya shouted, flooring the gas pedal on his kart.

yaku, flustered, delayed his start and immediately fell behind noya. noya sped up and as he approached the first turn, he jerked the wheel of his kart and drifted around the corner.

"HEY! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU COULDN'T DRIVE!!" yaku yelled over the roar of the racing karts.

"I LIED!" nishinoya answered with a cackle.

yaku had to slow down around the same turn, but was able to catch up to noya along the next stretch of the track. they were two more turns away from the finish and yaku was slowly catching up to noya, despite being left in the dust as the karasuno libero drifted around each curve.

as they were arriving at the finish line, yaku closing in on noya's tail, noya seemed to slow down. yaku immediately sped by him, winning the race, but not without noticing his date's sudden change in speed.