Sweet and Beautiful

Disowner: I do not own Haikyuu! Or any of its characters.

Chapter 1: Angel

It was morning. Early morning. Too early for the sleepy mind, yet the world had insisted that one must leave the house at six o'clock in the morning for certain university lectures. The morning mist clung to the grass and formed droplets of dew that hung on the edges of the green blades like tears on an eyelash. The sun was just rising even though it was past the usual time of dawn, proof that the colourful autumn leaves were about to melt away to reveal the icy, bare branches beneath them that only bitter, colourless winters seemed to bring. The chirping of the few birds left in the colder climates filled the silence with a little sound and occasionally broke the rhythm of steady footsteps echoing throughout the park.

The brown haired boy stalked through all this morning beauty, oblivious to it all. His only concern seemed to be that of keeping his scarf securely wrapped around his neck and the seemingly impossible task of not falling asleep on the sidewalk. The aforementioned boy walked at a healthy pace – not fast, but a little quicker than the pace one would usually see – or use – at that unholy hour. His breath fogged the air in front of his face and his clear, brown eyes stared at the pavement, unfocused and rimmed with red. After dragging his feet along in a daze for no less than two minutes, he stumbled and fell into one of the many bushes that lined the park's walkways. He got up spluttering and finally fully awake. Leaves now clung to his short, close-cropped hair and black uniform jacket. It can't be safe to say that it made a trendy fashion statement, but for some reason or other, he looked strangely in his element, he seemed to belong in the sturdy and peaceful nature that surrounded him.

Heaving a yawn, the boy took a stretch and breathed a sigh of relief – for it was clear that both his body and mind were fully functioning again. He looked at his watch, seemed to be pleased with what he saw and continued walking – now with a spring in his step. While he was walking, he pulled out one of his many textbooks out of his shoulder bag to revise over his notes for the upcoming lecture. The cover's title read Engineering Course. Under the title was a name scribbled out in neat, clear handwriting: Sawamura Daichi. The boy whose name was Daichi walked along the left side of the pavement – the correct side, as he liked to tell his friends – while reading the textbook he clutched in his hand and enjoyed the songs that the birds sung. His eyebrows were knitted in a frown out of concentration and his mouth was a tight line drawn under his nose. His tannish skin almost seemed to glow under the golden sunlight and his hair looked so soft, any bird would have happily traded their feathers for it.

As the thudding of his regular footsteps maintained their steady speed and volume, a more frantic pair began to approach them from behind. This new pair of footsteps were rushed and hurried with no apparent rhythm at all. However, the sound – as irregular as it was, still seemed to maintain the type of elegance that one may only possess as a part of their natural personality – it gave a sense that the owner of the footsteps was anything but artificial. Daichi kept his eyes glued to his textbook. This happened all the time, on his way through the park to the university, there was always at least one other student – who most likely shared the same school as him but with a different major – who would rush past him in the morning. Daichi breathed another sigh. This time not in relief but exasperation.

Can these people not take it down a few notches? He internally grumbled. It isn't even seven in the morning yet! The figure behind Daichi continued to stumble his way through the park, all the while muttering to himself. Daichi rolled his eyes. He had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen, a half-awake Karasuno university student in a different major will most likely skid or suddenly brake just before they would run into his back and change directions and continue full speed ahead without saying a word. Judging by the sound of the footsteps behind him, Daichi assumed the worst and prepared himself for a bump or brush on the side of the arm when the person behind him would barely miss him as they tried to avoid him. He was just thinking that if Nishinoya was here, he would be whispering none too quietly that he hoped the person behind them was a cute girl. Just as he smiled at the thought and braced himself for the bump he was expecting along with a mumbled apology, Daichi got a little more than he expected.

It almost happened in slow motion. Daichi realised that the footsteps were almost close enough to touch yet they showed no signs of stopping, and, if anything, got even faster. Daichi had fast reflexes. That was common knowledge and a well-known fact amongst those in his major and the university's volleyball club he was in. Apart from Nishinoya, no one could beat Daichi at reaction speed. However, the difference between them is great. If they were parts of a tourist landmark, Nishinoya would be the modern, abstract guardian angel at the front that kept the tourists pouring in while Daichi would be the sturdy foundation that people would often ignore but something that no one could do without. If Nishinoya was new and abstract, Daichi was reliable and trustworthy. From reacting to a piece of malfunctioning machinery to the ball being spiked at superhuman speed across the net, Daichi was always the sturdy foundation that saved the day. However, for one of the first times ever, Daichi's reflexes failed, just as his brain managed to register the fact that someone was about to walk into him, it happened. The person behind him walked straight into his back.

"Aaah!" They yelled as they both went down. The force of the collision knocked them both over but Daichi, luckily, had saved his face from having an unpleasant meeting with the ground with his hands and he was practically doing the plank. The other victim was not as lucky; he had landed badly on one of his ankles and grazed the elbow on the same side to a degree that he would probably have to treat as soon as possible. As Daichi slowly picked himself up to apologise, he turned to see the top of a head with mussed grey hair. The figure was bowing in front of him, the body forming an almost-perfect 90-degree angle.

"Huh…?" Daichi could only say, very confused. The sudden turn of events having almost done his head in. For the second time that morning, the gears in his brain weren't functioning to speed. Maybe he needed to give the gears a good oil, or maybe this other boy was just too much for his poor brain to handle and the mechanics were malfunctioning.

"I am so sorry! Please accept my apology!" The other figure started bowing frantically and it was all Daichi could do to get the person to stand up straight. For the first time, Daichi was properly able to look at the culprit responsible for the mess of textbooks and stationery strewn around them. What he saw took his breath away. The boy standing in front of him was an absolute angel.

With skin as pale as the clouds that decorated the skies on a fair day and hair a soothing, grey colour. His brown eyes – although swollen and red from lack of sleep – carried life. They seemed to reflect every emotion that went through the other boy's head. Well, they do say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and Daichi had seen other examples of this but this boy was the very dictionary definition of the proverb. He had a slender build and long, slender fingers that flowed into hands that were almost too feminine to belong to a man. His long eyelashes too resembled those of a woman's. His pouty lips gave him a younger appearance and even Daichi – who knew for a fact that he was at least nineteen – could have been tricked into thinking he was younger.

The boy wore the same jacket as Daichi did and a pastel blue scarf that seemed to bring out the colour of his skin. Daichi absentmindedly wondered where or from whom he had gotten such a tasteful wardrobe choice from. It wasn't until the boy cocked his head in Daichi's direction bemusedly that Daichi realised that he had been staring – dumbfounded – at the boy the whole time. What in the name of Japan was he doing? Yes, he would be the first to admit that this boy was absolutely gorgeous, but he's a guy! A male, Daichi! Get a grip buddy! His internal self scolded his subconscious. Daichi winced unknowingly and the grey haired boy immediately went into a panic.

"Are you alright? You're not, are you? You're hurt! Of course you are! I mean you did fall after all… Oh my gosh, this is all my fault…" Daichi cut him off with a firm shake of his head and a strong grip on his arm. Just by looking at his reassuring smile, you couldn't have guessed that internally he was thinking that the other boy's voice sounded like honey and every other sweet and soothing thing in the world put into sounds. A firm shake of the head – this time internally – was put in action to clear his mind of these unnecessary thoughts.

"Don't worry; I'm fine – not injured or anything – so there's nothing you need to worry about. I wasn't watching where I was going either, so I guess we're even!" Daichi flashed him another smile and maybe it was Daichi's imagination but the other boy almost seemed to blush a little, for a faint trace of pink seemed to dust his cheeks. Now it was the oblivious Daichi's turn to tilt his head confusedly at the other boy. Suga looked down towards the part where Daichi's hand continued to grip his upper arm in a strong hold. He caught sight of the watch and suddenly an unholy shriek filled the air when the grey-haired boy seemed to realise the time. Daichi winced from the loud sound and the other boy clapped a hand over his mouth.

"What's wrong?" The brown haired boy managed to ask. The birds however, did not seem to share his sympathy and they ascended to the skies in flocks. The ruckus the flying animals caused almost drowned out Daichi's question.

"Yes – no – I mean yeah. Well physically, almost a yes and emotionally, kind of a yes. But punctuality wise, a complete no!" The boy was rambling now as he went down on all fours to pick up his books, Daichi could tell that his mind was not in the conversation but he could also tell that he seemed to be the one to have set this whole thing off. He bent down to help the boy. "I have to hand in my assignment before the end of today's lecture but I'm already half an hour late. I forgot my coffee on my bedside table and that is about the only thing that has been sustaining my consciousness since the night before last. Oh and of course I had to go bump into someone, I feel groggy and still asleep and my ankle hurts!" Daichi listened in silence, he got the feeling that the boy could not care less who was listening to his rambling, but the truth was that Daichi just gave off that kind of aura. The type that seemed to scream: "I'm trustworthy and reliable, you can depend on me!" "Oh for the love of volleyball," volleyball? Does he play? Daichi wondered absentmindedly as he reached for yet another textbook. "I cannot. I repeat. Cannot. Fall asleep right now. I really wish I had that coffee, and heck, I hate the taste of coffee but a bit of caffeine could do me some good right… about… now..."

By then the rambling had reached the stage of slurred mumbling and the grey haired boy heaved a yawn and rubbed his eyes roughly, blinking his eyes hard to keep them open. As he shifted into a kneeling position on the ground to pack his shoulder bag with the once-scattered items again, the boy's eyes started to slide close and his head started to droop. Just as Daichi began to wonder what in the world he was to do with an unconscious boy with an assignment that was about to be overdue, the boy's head jolted back upright and he stood up abruptly – only to wince at the pain of his ankle.

Daichi followed suit and an awkward silence ensued between the two.

"Thank you very much for your help. And again, I'm very sorry for walking into you." With this came a formal bow from the injured boy.

"No, no. I also share the blame in this matter." Daichi said with his hand on the back of his head. He smiled and the boy smiled back. He is around the same height as me, Daichi thought, but I think I might be slightly taller.

"Well, see you around I guess…" The smallest of the pair said, clutching the strap of his bag and preparing to continue his brisk journey to the university.

"Yeah, see you 'round." Daichi said, also preparing to take his leave, though he was in no rush yet. Out of politeness, Daichi stepped aside for the other boy to continue walking before him. Daichi stared at him wistfully. Well, that's that, I didn't even get his name… He thought. Just as he turned to leave, he heard a yelp of pain and spun around to see the other boy clutching his ankle. Walking back towards the grey haired figure, he called out, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

The other boy stood up gingerly and turned around with an embarrassed grin, "I think I may have sprained it pretty badly, it's started to swell…" Another grin, this time, more apologetic than anything. "Don't worry about me though, it's fine, I'll just walk slowly over to the university and get one of my medical major friends to wrap it up for me."

"Not happening." Daichi declared decisively. He knew exactly how the sprain had happened and he knew that it wasn't his fault. However, he was going to take responsibility, not because he blamed himself or wanted to get to know the other boy better (well, maybe a little), but because… Well… Daichi was just that kind of guy. Said boy took the small number of required steps to reach the other boy and he took the other boy's bag to sling it over his own shoulder. When the other boy began to object, he just answered: "I'm not a medical major but I can at least get you to wherever you need to go."

After no small amount of convincing, the grey haired boy finally surrendered the address of his destination to Daichi. The architecture sector, he thought. Well, now that I think about it, this kind of major kind of suits this guy. Speaking of which…

He walked over and lifted one of the other boy's arms – the one on the injured ankle's side – and placed it around his shoulders. They started to limp at a slow but even pace towards the university. While he still had the guts for it, he said, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I was wondering what your name was? I don't think we've had a proper introduction yet…" Daichi looked away in embarrassment. Embarrassment? Why? He was just asking a schoolmate his name, not to mention said schoolmate was the same gender as him! Just calm down. He thought to himself.

"Sugawara. Sugawara Koushi." He replied.

"Sugawara san…" Daichi began.

"Suga is fine."

"Suga, you mentioned you're headed to the architecture sector?" The other boy now known as Suga mumbled his confirmation. "Then you're an architecture major?"

"That's right." Suga said cheerfully.

"Sorry, I've just never seen you around before," I would definitely never have forgotten if I had. Daichi added in his mind. Stealing a glance at the angel he was lending his shoulder to. "The only person I know from that major is an underclassman through a friend's friend's connections."

"What's the underclassman's name? I might know him." The conversation flowed so smoothly between the two one would have thought that they had known each other for years.

"Kageyama Tobio, he was apparently mentored by Oikawa Tooru in high school. The guy who's taking architecture and public relations."

"Yeah, I know Kageyama; he's quite the genius in the architecture department." Suga chuckled. "And I'm actually sharing an apartment with Oikawa san," Daichi's heart sunk a little. Why is my heart 'sinking'? He thought internally. "And we've been friends since junior high." At this, the taller boy's heart gave a flutter and came back to life. "As far as I know, Kageyama has always learned from Oikawa and you could even say that at some point, he idolised him. Now they're competitors; in a way." As Suga chattered happily away about Oikawa and his last assignment and almost everything and anything else they could possibly have a conversation about (from the new ramen store to the crime rate going up), Daichi saw the architecture buildings looming closer.

Daichi only noticed that the conversation had ended when the oppressing silence had filled the air around them and they could even hear each other's breathing along with the faint sounds of life emitting from the buildings that were sure to be running lectures by now. As they reached the doors and went in, Daichi opened his mouth to say goodbye but Suga beat him to it.

"Um… You don't have to – of course, you can if you want – but… Can I have your phone number?" Strange, Daichi thought, I felt a weird sense of déjà vu just then… Without knowing it, Daichi was leaving Suga in turmoil while he stared ahead into space and left the question unanswered. "Well, of course you wouldn't want to! Who would want to give their number to a stranger they've just met! I'm sorry! Please forget I said anything!" With a nervous laugh, he turned to leave when suddenly the grey haired boy felt a familiar hand grip his arm. It was like one of those scenes in the movies, the main character turns around, eyes hopeful and hair tousled by the wind and – Suga gave a yelp of pain as his grazed elbow started bleeding again.

"I'm so sorry! Did I grab your elbow? Oh gosh, I'm so, so sorry." Daichi started apologising profusely to Suga, for a while, Suga just looked at him blankly, he just stood there, not quite registering what had just happened, then suddenly, a wide and beautifully natural grin split his face and the melodic chime of his laughter filled the empty corridor of the building.

"It's fine – I'm fine, it's all right, now stop apologising." Suga huffed, the laughing had taken a lot more out of him than he had expected. He had never really stopped to think about or appreciate how much energy it took to smile and laugh; it was always something he had taken for granted. Now that his little happy fit has seized more than half his remaining energy, he had never been so grateful for the plastic benches that lined the corridor.

"Um… If you still want it… Of course I wouldn't mind giving you my number – that would be great! Can I have yours as well?" Daichi asked, taking a seat beside Suga.

"Sure!" Once again, Suga's face lit up and it shone brightly like the sun did when the weather was fine. They exchanged numbers, Suga fumbling a little with his password; somehow, his mind still hadn't completely woken up yet, although the logic in that is hard to see.

Fifteen minutes after their little encounter, Suga was off to his lecture's classroom to hand in his assignment with a mere 5 minutes left before it became overdue and Daichi was jogging towards his own lecture, already 5 minutes late.

Daichi did not remember much from the incident. He clearly remembered Suga's moments of beauty and clumsiness but of the conversation, he did not remember much. He could hardly recall the roads they used or the scenery they saw. However, he remembered three things as clearly as he remembered his own name. One, Suga's laugh. Two, the meticulous taste the person who chose that scarf for Suga had.

And three – this was the strangest of them all – Daichi remembered the boy had a fragrance hanging around him that he hadn't noticed at first. It wasn't that the fragrance was weak or easily overlooked in any way, it just suited the boy so well that one almost took it as being a natural part of the boy. Daichi only noticed it now as it was clinging to his jacket. Now that Daichi thought about it, the lightly sweet fragrance was probably the only artificial thing about the boy. He racked his brains but he was never really one for perfumes or even the scent of flowers. But without knowing it, even though he sighed with defeat, he had already made the unconscious decision that he would definitely find what that scent was. He hoped he could get to know that sweet and beautiful scent better. A smile graced his face and a new spring entered his step as he thought about meeting his angel again.

Author's Note: This is going to be a multi-chapter story, I'll probably update whenever I have the time but since I have school, it might sometimes be once every fortnight or if I go on a spree, once every few days. Since I'm really new at this (this is only my second fanfic), I really hope people will review… Thank you so much for reading!