kiddo

chapter six

"Okay, where are Noya and Tanaka?" I ask the group, all of them gathered around the small bus.

It was dark, around two in the morning, and the volleyball club was about to head on a five hour trip to Tokyo. The only issue was, the aggressive baldie and short gremlin were missing.

As if on cue I hear loud shouting from somewhere around the building.

"No, it's best two out of three! I win!" Nishinoya calls loudly.

"We never said that!" Tanaka rebuts, his voice only growing louder.

Having had enough I storm around the corner, fury building as I step towards them.

"What in the actual fuck are you two doing?" I hiss, trying to keep my voice down, "It's 2 AM, people are trying to sleep, AND we were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago. Explain yourselves."

Their eyes go wide and they shrink into themselves, realizing they fucked up.

"We- uh, well we were..." Tanaka stutters, "We were deciding who gets to sit next to you."

This time my eyes go wide as I raise my eyebrows, dumbfounded this is how they were wasting our time. 

"I'm not sitting next to any of you," I say adamantly.

Noya scratches his head, "Well, you have to sit next to someone, that's how the distribution falls on the seats."

I hear footsteps behind me, and Noya and Tanaka become even more anxious, making me turn around to see who it is. 

"What's wrong?" Keishin asks, checking in on the situation.

My hand comes to rub my forehead as I try to explain, "They're arguing about who gets to sit next to me."

"I won the rock paper scissors, so I have won the rights. Simple as that," Noya mutters, but Tanaka grows annoyed and is about to yell again, but Keishin interrupts.

"Okay," he says yawning, "Since you can't decide, she'll sit with me, if she's okay with it."

He glances over at me and raises his eyebrows expectantly waiting for my answer.

"Sure," I respond, shrugging my shoulders. 

He sighs, "Okay, now that that's settled, let's go."

They move towards the bus but an uneasy feeling engulfs me, twisting my stomach in a knot.

"W-Wait-" I manage to stutter, hand coming to reach the hem of Keishin's sleeve, "I want to say something."

His eyes fly to mine, wondering what he could've done wrong but I stand up clear my throat.

"Thank you, Coach, for coming up with a solution. I am very appreciative of that," I assure before turning to Noya and Tanaka, "But I am no prize to be won. The 'rights' of who I get to sit next to belong to me, and only me, so please stop arguing about this kind of stuff. I will choose who I sit next to and the two of you bickering about it just makes me uncomfortable."

Their faces fall and Noya is quick to respond, "We're so sorry. We didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah," Tanaka says, his hurt tone tugging at my heart, "I promise we'll never pull this shit again."

I smile and pat their heads, "Thank you, I gladly accept your apologies. Now that that's cleared, let's get going. Tokyo awaits."

They nod and the four of you return to the group, climbing onto the bus excitedly.

"Do you mind if I take the window seat?" I ask, looking up into Keishin's warm hazel eyes. 

He shakes his head and smiles, "No, I don't care."

. . .

An hour passes and most of the team is sleeping or somehow otherwise entertained, the sound of a humming motor the only thing to break the thick silence. 

But I can't sleep. I turn in my seat trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing seems to bring me any sense of tranquility. I pull out my phone and click on an old contact and begin to type.

To: geekycatboi

"we're on our way now, so I'll see you and kenma in a few hours. can't wait to catch up :))"

I send the message and turn my phone off again, sighing as I look out the window. 

"Can't sleep?" a deep voice interrupts.

I glance over, and Keishin is looking up, his head falling back to lean on the headrest. His head rolls over and his eyes meet mine.

"Mhm," I hum quietly, trying to not wake anyone up, "I can't get comfortable for some reason. Usually, I can sleep anywhere."

"Here," he mutters, hand coming up and resting on the top of my head, gently guiding me into his lap.

I smile and nuzzle into his sweatpants, hand coming to grip the fabric on his thigh. He looks down at me at the passing street lights illuminate my face lightly, a small blush peppering his nose.

"Thanks, Keishin," I mumble from his lap, eyes falling closed as a wave of exhaustion rolls over me.

His fist comes to cover his face and he whispers softly, "Sure thing."

I pass out soon after, his hand continuously playing with my hair. 

. . . 

Suga wakes up, the rising sun hitting his face, and he pulls his head up from Daichi's shoulder. He looks over and gapes at the sight. 

Keishin's arm is draped over my shoulder, his other hand on my hair, completely passed out leaning against the headrest. I'm snuggled into his lap, sleeping peacefully as well. He glances around and notices others starting to wake, so he coughs as loud as he can, hoping to wake Ukai up. 

He opens his eyes slowly and Suga turns away quickly and stretches, pretending to not have seen a thing. 

"Koda," Keishin calls quietly, hand brushing some strands of hair out of my face. 

I shift in his lap, eyes slowly fluttering open. After realizing where I am I jolt up, a small blush painting my cheeks. 

He chuckles, "Good morning."

I smile and rub some sleep out of my eye, "Morning."

Turning to the window I glance at my reflection, my eyes widening as I see the bed head, and in an attempt to make it better I brush it down. 

I check my phone and see a text from Kuroo. I press on it and smile.

"See you in a bit :D"