Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu! If I did, my OTP Asanoya would show more PDA. Not that I'm not content with Furudate-sensei's work for the duo's *cough*couple*cough* moments, because I LOVE them!
Accidental Confessions can Lead to Happy Endings
When Asahi became a second year student in Karasuno High, the day he and his teammates were supposed to meet the new members of the volleyball club, he didn't think one of them would catch his interest.
Don't get him wrong. Everyone he meets who is going to share his dreams of going to the nationals will get his attention. Because if they were going to be a team then they all have to connect.
But this particular person… this small person had caught his interest more than any of the new members. More than that golden egg, Tanaka Ryuu- something, even.
'He can't be more than 160 cm tall, right?' Asahi thought while staring at the shortest first year student who was standing in line for introductions.
Nishinoya Yuu was his name.
He has a small body alright, but everything about him screams anything but small. He has that aura, the kind that demands trust and respect. That if you trust him, he'll have your back no matter what.
His brown, piercing eyes shows no fear, only confidence. Yet the tone of words that came out of him were not that of arrogance but simply of the fact that he is a great player.
Everything about him… his small figure yet his big presence, his wild hair, his piercing brown eyes, his confidence, the way he talks, the way he played in practice, everything had Asahi's attention in that first day.
Back then Asahi thought nothing of the interest he had on Nishinoya Yuu. While he was a bit too energetic (and scary but thankfully not as scary as an angry Daichi), Asahi was sure Nishinoya would only be a nice teammate to work with.
Now, though, as Asahi sat in his chair in class and not paying attention to the teacher, he contemplates again just how important Nishinoya Yuu has become to him. How the younger of the two have always had his back despite everything that has happened.
'Despite how cowardly I was…' As soon as the thought went through his mind, Asahi shook his head. No, he can't think about that again. Just yesterday he has come back to the team thanks to the encouragement of the team, especially Daichi, Suga, the first years Hinata and Kageyama and most importantly Nishinoya. With a renewed hope and strength, from the moment he hit that toss, Asahi was a reborn Ace. He'll prove that to his teammates and new coach.
To Nishinoya.
While putting his chin on his palm and making his whole body lean against the desk, the tall man focuses his thoughts on the libero again. Excluding a few days ago when he peeked at practice and yesterday when he actually stepped into the gym again, he realized it was more than a month since he had taken a good look at his kohai's face. Yesterday at the practice match he was too ashamed to look at the boy in the eyes so he kept looking down at the floor or at the ball, though he had a feeling that Nishinoya himself was also ignoring him. He deserved that.
Thankfully when they did speak to each other, things hadn't been awkward but there just wasn't enough time to talk about what happened.
"That's what I want."
"Huh?"
"No matter how many times I fail, I still want to spike."
"...Then, I'm fine. Now that you said that, I'm fine."
Was it fine, though? Had it been really that easy to forgive him like that? He thought he didn't deserve being accepted back, but even so. Ever since that match his heart has been beating very fast, not because of anxiety but because of excitement.
'I want to practice again. I want to spike again.' He thought while smiling. He has the chance to reach his dream again, and this time with more hope. This time, with a renewed confidence, and it's all thanks to his teammates. Thanks to Nishinoya.
He wants to apologize to him. But most of all… 'I want to thank him. I want him to know how grateful I am. But I don't want it to be awkward…' Asahi shook his head at his negativity. 'The least I could do is thank him! Alright, I'll do it after practice today!' He nodded with a determined face.
"Azumane!"
"Y-yes!"
"Are you done going off in your own world?" He found his classmates chuckling at him being called. The next thing he knew, he was stuttering and sporting a red face.
"Y-yes, Sir!." But his Sensei wasn't satisfied with his answer.
"Then I suppose you can answer this question right here?" It was a math question. Math. He can do math. Especially when the question wasn't too far off the homework he did yesterday. When (again, thankfully) he answered correctly, his classmates shut up and the teacher gave a satisfied nod before returning to his lecture.
'Maybe I'll practice in thanking him at lunch…' Asahi thought as he sat down, his face still red from embarrassment.
Asahi feels anxious when he got to the gym that day. It was his second day back after all, and despite Daichi and Suga (mostly Suga) insisting that there were no hard feelings of Asahi briefly leaving the team, the glass heart boy still feels ashamed and guilty.
"Asahi-san! Osu!" The sudden loud greeting made Asahi jump, his hands immediately placed on top of his heart.
"T-Tanaka, you scared me" He gave the excited boy a smile that came out more as a grimace. It seems he has to get used to the club member's antics all over again if he wants to survive in this team. And although it was nice to be energetic, Asahi's fragile heart could only hope that the first years won't be as bad as Tanaka or Nishinoya. Though after yesterday's game, he now probably has a good idea on how spirited and passionate they can be.
Right. Nishinoya. Thanking time.
"By the way, where's Noya?" Asahi asked when he there was no sight of the boy with the blond tuft.
"He and Hinata are getting the cart- hey, we should get the poles!" Tanaka moved to lead Asahi to the storage. He smiled as he follows his kohai. Usually it was Asahi who would get the poles before practice and return them to the storage after because they were heavy. He didn't know who took his job after he left, but it was nice to be useful to the team again by contributing with something small.
His smile, however, was wiped out when a ball struck his face-hard-before it bounced off to land on his frozen hands.
"Asahi-san!?" At Tanaka's unusual outburst, the team members gathered outside the storage. Then come Kageyama's roar.
"Dumbass! Why did you spike the ball in the storage!?" Hinata looked ready to cry at Kageyama's anger and Asahi's blank stare.
"I-I-I didn't mean to! You were tossing it up in the air-"
Then came a gleeful voice from a tall blond. "So you decided to spike it? You're such a volleyball idiot."
"Nice one, Tsukki!"
"Shut up, Yamaguchi."
"Sorry, Tsukki."
"Stay out of this, Tsukishima!" Kageyama roared at the pair who were outside the storage before putting his attention back at the guilty boy. "You and Nishinoya-san were taking too long chatting, so I just grabbed a ball and started tossing it because I was bored! That doesn't mean you get to spike it here, Hinata-dumbass!"
"I-I-I-I'm sorry! It was instinct! And I aimed at the door anyway!"
"That's why I said you're a volleyball idio-"
"Alright, alright! I think that's enough-" "I said, shut up Tsukishima!"
"Oy! How many times do I have to tell you not to talk over Daichi-san!?"
While the first years, Daichi and Tanaka were still in their argument, and the rest of the second years kept quiet (more like speechless at this point), Suga was poking his friend to see if he was alive.
"Uh, Asahi, are you okay? Granted, Hinata's far from being an ace, but his spikes are really something."
He continued to poke him until Asahi snapped out of it.
"I'm-I'm fine- and stop poking me!"
"Asahi, you're bleeding!" Daichi suddenly said. At that, Asahi automatically brushed the feeling of wetness from the bottom of his nose with his right hand. True enough it came out bloody.
Asahi saw his teammates beginning to panic when someone grabbed the ball away from his hand and something orange suddenly blurred his vision.
He closed his eyes on instinct, but it was only two seconds before he opened them again and realized it was Nishinoya who had grabbed the ball away from him and covered Asahi's bleeding nose with an orange handkerchief.
"Are you okay?" The boy asked calmly, making all members of the volleyball club go silent. The first years were unsurprisingly shocked, but to the second and third years, this was one of those rare moments where Nishinoya was quiet and dependable rather than being loud and ignorant. No, not ignorant. Respectable. Whenever there was trouble, if the third years or Ennoshita are there, he would only observe and let them make the decisions. He would only act as the guy lifting the mood up after the trouble was settled. After all, Nishinoya was a reliable person.
Asahi nodded as a response while not taking his eyes off of the boy's face. Asahi noticed that he has a serious expression on his face. His lips was turned down and his eyebrow turned into a frown. But the thing that Asahi noticed most was his brown eyes. There was… a glint of worry in them.
'Of course he's worried about you, stupid. Just like how he's worried about you all this time . '
They're as piercing as ever.
'You should say thank you to Noya for all that he's done for you.'
Oh wow, he hasn't stared at those eyes this closely for more than a month.
'Without him, you'd be giving up your dreams after all. Now, just like we've rehearsed: say 'thank you'. Thank you!'
Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Say it now! Say 'thank you'!
"Asahi-san?"
"I love you."
Silence.
.
.
.
Twelve pairs of eyes widen. Twelve jaws dropped.
The ball which Nishinoya was holding for Asahi fell from his grasp and bounced on the floor before rolling and stopping next to Daichi's foot. Nishinoya felt his hand that was holding the handkerchief against Asahi's bleeding nose was the only thing keeping him grounded from the unbelievable statement he just heard.
And the silence continued for ten more seconds before Nishinoya whispered, "W-what did you just say…?" Despite the situation he's in, Asahi was shocked to see an expression he had never seen the boy wore before. His eyes were wide and Asahi noticed the boy's cheeks were very red. He also noticed that the boy's form was now tense. Never in the one year Asahi has known Nishinoya that he could look so vulnerable and cute like that- wait...
Cute?
…
Since when had he thought Nishinoya was cute?
And what did he say just now anyway that made the boy in front of him so flustered like that?
.
.
.
"I love you."
Wait what.
DID HE JUST-
Asahi's face mirrored Nishinoya's expression.
And suddenly, the entire gym exploded.
"Oh my God, what did I just say!?"
"DID HE JUST CONFESSED!?"
"Perhaps he has brain damage from the ball caused by shrimp here…"
"HINATA, YOU DUMBASS!"
"I'M SORRY!"
"YOU GUYS, SHUT UP!" At Daichi's booming voice, the whole team shut up again.
Their eyes widen again when Asahi suddenly bowed down in front of Nishinoya, making the boy step back. The action made the latter pull his hand from his senpai's face and the shock made him let go of his handkerchief as it fell onto the gym floor. "I'M SO SORRY! GOSH, NOYA, I'M SO SORRY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING!"
The boy in question was confused but it didn't reduce the redness of his cheeks. "Uh... erm…"
Nishinoya clearly didn't know how to respond and the situation was more than embarrassing as it is. So Asahi had to do what any logical person would do at the moment: grab Nishinoya's hand and run away.
"The fuc- HE RAN AWAY!"
"Don't leave us hanging, Asahi-san!"
"Oi, Asahi! Bring back Nishinoya-" "Wait, Daichi, all of you! Let them be!"
"But Suga-saaaann"
Suga shook his head at the whining and excited team members while raising his hands to block them from going after the duo. The team can see that the vice captain of the volleyball team clearly wanted nothing more than to run after the two of them, however his sympathetic side obviously won over his curious side. "Shush, now! We should let them have space for now so they can sort this out"
"Sort what out?"
"Now let's just start practice!"
"Suga-" He turned to Daichi with a blank face.
"I. Said. Practice. Daichi." The team shut their mouth.
"Y-y-yes, sir."
At that moment, Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei entered the gym and noticed the awkward silence right away. "Uh… is something going on?"
"Asahi-san- wait, a sec- Asahi-san!"
'Nonononononono- whywhywhy!?' When Asahi woke up that morning he didn't think that day would result in him confessing his love! As he continues on walking with a fast pace while pulling his complaining teammate with him, Asahi kept asking why, why would he suddenly make a love confession and embarrass himself like that? Embarrass Nishinoya.
'I'm such an idiot! He'll definitely hate me now!'
"Asahi-san, stop!" And he halted.
With his back still facing his kohai, Asahi was suddenly aware of his surroundings: he had ran away and brought Nishinoya to a secluded place on the grounds near the school's back gate. He realized that while being pulled, Nishinoya had been calling for him and telling him to stop running. He also realized that his nose has stopped bleeding.
Asahi quickly let go of Nishinoya's hand and before the latter could speak again, the first bowed down to the waist. "I'm sorry Noya!"
"Asahi-" "I'm sorry for embarrassing you like that, and I understand if you don't want to be friends with me any more or even speak to me again!" Asahi snapped his eyes shut and clenched his fists, fearing the worst. He didn't want to stop being friends with Nishinoya even if he had done much damage in their relationship. Not when they've finally started to mend their fragile bond.
'Not when I realized that my interest in him all this time was actually…' He can't believe that since day one, the feelings he has had for the boy was actually non-platonic. He can't believe that his mouth realized it sooner than his brain!
"You…" The whisper that came out of Nishinoya's mouth stopped Asahi's thoughts. He was too used in him being so loud, when he actually let out a small voice it seems so strange to Asahi.
The upperclassman gathered enough courage to slowly lift his head and look at Nishinoya's face. He was surprised to find the boy wasn't looking at him, in fact with his resigned expression, he was trying to focus his gaze on anywhere but Asahi. The way he was squirming looked like he wanted to be anywhere rather than be here.
Rather than be anywhere near him.
And that made Asahi's heart drop.
This is it. He's successfully ruined their friendship. Nishinoya's now disgusted with him. Nishinoya's a strong, cheerful and wonderful man, and he loves women, so why in the hell would he want to be with a guy? With him no less?
If Nishinoya had stared at Asahi's eyes, he was sure the boy would notice how broken he was. "Asahi-san, you… did you mean what you say?" Asahi's eyes widen.
He could say it was a lie. He could say he was kidding to distract his teammates from worrying about his nosebleed.
But can he do that? Can he lie to Nishinoya again?
Can he lie to himself?
…
"Yes." He watched as Nishinoya finally looks at him. His eyes wide as they caught Asahi's determined ones.
Asahi was done running. He was done running away from everything he cared about. From everything he loved.
"When did you realize this?"
"Just now." Nishinoya spluttered.
"J-just now? How-"
"I think I've had a crush on you since the day I met you actually…" He confessed while rubbing the back of his neck while looking at the ground before glancing back at the shorter male. "I'm sorry if I embarrass you Noya, and if you don't believe me, that's fine. But I'm… I'm done running away, and you've helped me in having that strength to stop running away. I've- I've wanted to thank you really…"
Through his speech he watches as Nishinoya's expression turned from shock to understanding. To relief, and to... joy?
When Nishinoya suddenly chuckled and that chuckle quickly turned into a loud laugh, Asahi was almost pissed.
Sure he wasn't the most perfect guy, but did he deserve being laughed at by his crush for being honest? Of course not! He was practically laying his heart on the ground here!
"Sorry, sorry, Asahi!" Huh? "I swear I'm not mocking you, I'm-I'm actually laughing at myself!" While hugging his stomach, Nishinoya continues his laughing.
"Huh?" It was another minute before his laughter subsided. The younger male closed his eyes while taking a big breath before exhaling and opening his eyes to meet Asahi's. All worry and vulnerability were now gone and instead the look in his eyes looked was replaced by... affection?
"I'm sorry I doubted you, Asahi-san" At Asahi's confused expression, Nishinoya went on saying, "I thought you were apologizing because you were lying to me back then, you know? About how you felt about me. I'm just really relieved right now because of how stupid I was that I could ever accuse an honest and nice guy like you of pranking me!"
At that, Asahi let out a trembling chuckle. Thank God he didn't say his confession was a lie- wait…
"You were laughing because... you were relieved?"
"Yeah! Not the best reaction, but what can I say?"
"You were… relieved?"
"Uhh, yeah? I thought we've established that-" Noya yelped when Asahi suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
"You were relieved because my confession was real." Noya's eyes softened, maybe because of his shaky voice, he wasn't sure.
"Yes."
"Be-because…?"
The smile Nishinoya has on his face as he said his next words reminds Asahi why he fell in love with him. It seems ridiculous, to express that you love someone when you're not even dating them yet. But this feeling, as cliche as it may be, he's definitely sure that it's love. "Because I love you too, Asahi-san. You big, silly goof."
Asahi didn't know who pulled who, but the feeling of suddenly having Nishinoya in his arms gave him warmth and satisfaction. It made him happy and relieved. It made him feel loved.
When Asahi became a second year student in Karasuno High, the day he and his teammates were supposed to meet the new members of the volleyball club, he didn't think one of them would catch his interest.
He didn't think Nishinoya Yuu would catch his interest and make him be the one Asahi fell in love with.
End.
A/N: *Sigh* another fanfic went too long again. But it's Asanoya, my OTP... so how can I not express and describe their feelings in my stories for the world to see?
Regardless, I hope you lovely readers enjoy this story! :)