Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the story idea and only some of the witty remarks. I own so little; so please don't steal.
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When they get the new applications for the volleyball team, Sugawara is excited because it means that they'll have new members and fresh potential, but really, he's happy because it really means that Daichi will have a chance to lead a new, better team to greater heights on the stage of high school volleyball. He knows his best friend's dedication to the volleyball team and it makes him happy to see Daichi happy.
Anyway, the new members seem pretty promising in terms of talent, with prodigy Kageyama, the plucky Hinata, the impressively tall Tsukishima (oh yeah, and Yamaguchi). He hopes they get along, and he glances hopefully at Daichi as they make their way to the gym with Tanaka. It was a good thing Daichi was made captain, he thinks to himself, because captains have to hold themselves up with dignity and confidence and his friend definitely has all that, with an already quite mature face and a careful disposition. He hopes he isn't staring too much, because Daichi looks down at him and grins and says, "It'll be okay, Sugawara. The first years can't be too bad."
It doesn't seem too good when Kageyama and Hinata start the year with a huge amount of bickering and Daichi has to kick them out temporarily until they can look each other in the eye. The other first years Tsukishima and Yamaguchi don't seem too motivated, and it makes Sugawara worry as they walk home.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Daichi asks, smiling easily and making Sugawara's stomach flutter.
"I'm just concerned about the first years," he confesses. "I don't want the volleyball team to fall apart." What he means is, he doesn't want your volleyball team to fall apart. His entire life was given meaning when Daichi came up to him last year and said, Koushi, do you want to be vice captain? He's going to do his best to protect what's important to Daichi, and that is Karasuno's volleyball club.
But everything falls out better than he expected, as Kageyama and Hinata surprisingly meld together well and Tsukishima seems swept up in their rhythm. The year is going to go swimmingly, Sugawara thinks as he makes his way to the court after school. He's going to teach Kageyama the nuances of high school volleyball setters and he's going to play with everyone, especially Daichi, and they're going to make it into a great year.
His optimism starts cracking when he really starts watching Kageyama's sets. He's as good as they say, and while he seems satisfied with having Hinata catch his balls, Daichi's a wing spiker too, and he's also captain. What if, his traitorous mind thinks, what if Daichi doesn't need me anymore with Kageyama as the ace setter? The thought settles bitterly and he tries to get it out of his mind.
Even when Kageyama confronts him and says he'll earn his place as the team's regular setter, it still unsettles Sugawara that their levels in ability and talent are so different. He quietly chastises himself for naively thinking that everything could just be as he wants it, with him at Daichi's side, because that in itself is a naïve thought.
It isn't that he hates Kageyama, per say, because it would be foolish for an upperclassman to be immature toward an underclassman and Daichi is still his friend, but what's important to Daichi is the team, and it hurts to be…well…replaced.
He must be moping more obviously than he thought, because Shimizu comes up to him as he's washing his face outside during practice, and that is the stoic girl's way of asking what's wrong.
"Do you think," Sugawara asks slowly, staring at the water swirling down the drain as he wipes his face, "that maybe Daichi won't want me anymore?" It takes him a moment to realize his choice of words, and they're so shocking that Shimizu's giving him a strange look too. "I mean, as a setter! Ah, sorry Kyoko-chan, that sounds strange, doesn't it? Ignore me, I'm just being stupid!" He laughs it off as best he can, with the manager looking at him with concern. "This isn't anything to tell the others, it's just me being silly. I'm sorry for burdening you with this, Kyoko-chan."
She shrugs and they return to the gym, where she wordlessly watches over practice and Sugawara is confident that he can trust her to keep his secret.
He keeps his feelings to himself, choosing instead to be a good upperclassman and plays the role of vice captain to the best of his abilities, instructing when he should, criticizing when necessary. He's a pushover, he realizes disappointedly. If Kageyama comes to him once and asks for the setter's position, Sugawara realizes that he might sputter his way into agreement. This is especially the truth if Daichi were to ask him. His weakness is Daichi and he can't resist.
Sugawara stays behind one day after practice to help Daichi plan out their next plan of attack. He knows he should focus and put forth suggestions, but he can't help but smell Daichi's cologne and watch his fingers as he writes and thinks about how it might feel to have Daichi's fingers on his skin. He flushes at the very thought.
"I'll have you start," Daichi says, finishing his notes with a flourish. "And in the middle we'll put in Kageyama to throw them off base. Does that sound okay with you?"
"Yeah!" Even to his ears, it sounds high and fake. "That's okay," Sugawara manages, as Daichi looks at him curiously. "I mean, Kageyama's made for that kind of stuff…he's good at it…so it'll be okay…" He hates himself for saying such hypocritical things. But he'd be a selfish and petty person for refusing Kageyama's position on the team and Daichi is a man who deserves the best.
Daichi stands up and grabs him and kisses him forcefully. The motion makes Sugawara struggle, pulling at Daichi's clothes and resisting until he's really pulling Daichi closer and kissing back so feverishly it's making his head spin. This is a shameful side of him he'd never show the others. He breaks away to breathe and it exhilarates him that he's the one who ended it, not Daichi.
"Pretty," Daichi whispers, thumbing Sugawara's beauty mark before kissing it gently. "Pretty, pretty boy."
Sugawara wants to protest, but honestly, he's so happy that Daichi kissed him he can't even really think straight. "I didn't mean to make you feel like this," Daichi says, his breath hot on Sugawara's face. Sugawara wonders if he looks wanton, abandoned recklessly in Daichi's arms. "Did you think I would prefer Kageyama over you?"
"I just thought…" Sugawara mumbles as Daichi brings him down and presses him against the floor. Thinking about it, it was all a stupid thing to worry about. Daichi still wanted to walk home with him, and study at his house, and be together on their days off. He clutches desperately at Daichi's jacket, but the captain does not seem keen on letting him go.
"I still like you best," Daichi promises, kissing Sugawara's collarbone and taking off his jacket. He makes Sugawara cry out in the clubroom and fills the room with sweet smelling heat. This is really their last year together at school, Sugawara thinks as he feels Daichi inside him and moans melodiously, and he's glad that two years of patient longing have resulted in this kind of end.
"How did you know?" Sugawara asks afterwards, snug close to Daichi as they sit in the corner of the clubroom with the vague thought that they should air the place out before the others come. Daichi chuckles and scratches his nose, a habit Sugawara knows Daichi does when he's embarrassed.
"Well…I didn't really notice, ashamedly, but after Kyoko said something…"
"God!" Sugawara buries his face in his hands. "I thought I told her not to tell anyone!"
"She was worried about you!" Daichi laughs as he holds Sugawara closer. "She told me you were feeling insecure about your spot next to me." He grins as Sugawara lets out a stream of mortified noises. "But truthfully…I knew, because of how you set. When Kageyama sets the ball, it's technical and precise, but when I receive one of your balls, it's…how can I put this…" He leans in close to Sugawara's ear. "It's full of emotion."
Sugawara wants to die, this is so embarrassing.
He wants to die again when Daichi takes his hand as they're talking over the plan to the others because he knows everyone's eyes have suddenly migrated to where their hands are touching. Of course, there are people like Hinata who are looking blankly in confusion, but with Tsukishima and Tanaka's expressions, they know and it's so awkward. He remembers something else of Daichi's personality, and that once he has something, he doesn't let it go, and that's another thing that makes him perfect as a captain.
Sugawara thinks he's secured the binds on himself for Daichi, but somehow he's satisfied with that.
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Note: I love these two together so much it physically hurts?