Note: So I think I'm going to make Fridays the update days because it works well for my schedule and seems to get the best amount of responses. Ideally I'd like it to be every friday but I don't know how realistic that is. Thank you everyone who is reading this fic and extra thanks to anyone who has left kudos and/or comments.

Chapter 11

Telling his parents sucks.

He and Ryuu both take Takeda up on his offer to help talk to their parents. Asahi declines. Noya winds up getting to go first because Ryuu's parents won't be home till after they close the restaurant for the night.

It's not that his parents are angry or anything like that, they're just worried. His mom cries. Takeda does his best to reassure them that Noya can still have a bright, happy, future even with things being the way they are. Despite the teacher's persistence, Noya's not sure his mom believes him.

Going to school the next day sucks worse though.

The walk to school with Ryuu is awkward and uncomfortable. They talk about how things went telling their parents, but avoid talking about why they needed to in the first place.

Everyone seems to already know by the time Noya gets to class. He's not sure how news gets around so fast but he wishes everyone else would just mind their own business. Every time there's a break or the teacher steps out of class he can hear them whispering about him. About how selfish and arrogant he must be.

The stares follow him even when the teacher is in the classroom.

By the time lunch rolls around he's already exhausted and his nerves are frayed. He has no idea how he's going to handle lunch. They'd all agreed to try this but they hadn't really had a chance to talk about the logistics of it yet.

When he gets to their usual lunch spot Asahi, Daichi, and Suga are already there. They seem a bit tired and grumpy but generally ok. He wonders if Asahi is getting pestered as much as he is.

He hopes not.

He sits in his usual spot next to Asahi, he's not sure if that's where he should sit but he can't think of a better alternative. He forgets to be worried about seating arrangements though, when Ryuu shows up with a fresh black eye and the rest of the second year volleybal players.

Ryuu takes his usual spot on Noya's other side but Ennoshita, who looks extremely grumpy, pointedly sits on the opposite side of the table then his usual spot and well away from Ryuu.

For a moment no one says anything.

"So… How'd you get that black eye?" Daichi asks, breaking the silence.

Ryuu groans and puts his head on the table, covering his head with his arms.

"It's dumb, don't ask." He says.

"Ennoshita gave it to him." Kinoshita says. His tone is playful which seems contradictory to the content of what he said.

"Hisashi... You can't just say it like that they'll think Ennoshita and Tanaka got into a fight or something-" Narita says, trying to reassure the third years and Noya. "It wasn't like that, it was an accident."

"An... accident?" Suga asks.

"Yeah… um… Tanaka got worked up about… something… and Ennoshita was trying to get him to calm down and accidentally elbowed him in the face..." There are clearly parts that Narita is intentionally leaving out of the story.

"What sort of something?" Daichi asks. Daichi and Suga are both wearing their "dad" expressions. He hopes they don't get too upset with Ryuu. If Ryuu's day's been anything like Noya's he's pretty sure he understands.

"He tried to fight someone to defend the honor of our dear libero." Kinoshita says. "It was very romantic and noble really, until he got elbowed in the face and had to go to the nurse's office."

Ryuu groans again and sinks lower in his seat.

Noya wants to hug Ryuu, or hold his hand or something… but he still isn't really sure where the boundaries are so he just leans a little closer and hopes it's enough.

He's expecting Ryuu to get a lecture from Daichi, but Daichi and Asahi share a look Noya can't read and instead Daichi just reminds Ryuu that he'll have to miss practice if he gets suspended for fighting.

Lunch proceeds weirdly normally after that. No one talks about yesterday. Noya thinks he should be relieved but it winds up being more awkward than comforting.

As they're all cleaning up their spaces and getting ready to head back to class, Asahi asks if he can walk with Noya so they can talk about something privately. Noya agrees and they head off together in the direction of Noya's class when they are done cleaning up their lunches.

"I think you should hang out with Tanaka after school today." Asahi says once they're out of earshot of their friends.

"But... we usually hang out on Fridays…" Noya says, surprised by the suggestion. In the months since he and Asahi had started dating it had become a bit of a habit that they'd spend friday evenings together. He understands that things will need to change if the arrangement they worked out yesterday is going to work, but he doesn't want Asahi to feel like he has to give up their established date night.

"Yeah" Asahi says, "but your relationship with Tanaka is new, and I think it'd be good for both of you to have some time to yourselves…"

"Besides, Kazuo asked if I could help out with something on the farm so I can't hang out tonight anyway." Asahi continues. Noya's pretty sure Asahi could have, and would have, rescheduled his plans with Kazuo if he wanted to, but he does have a point. As much as Noya's dreading the awkwardness of it, it's probably for the best if he and Ryuu actually talk more thoroughly about what has happened.

"Okay…" Noya says. He slips his hand into Asahi's and entwines their fingers. "Thank you."

Asahi squeezes his hand gently in acknowledgement.

When they pass an alcove near his classroom Asahi pulls him into it and into a hug. Snug and safe in Asahi's arms Noya can feel some of the tension of the last few days seep out of him. He leans into the hug and brings his arms up to hug Asahi back.

Asahi's hand on his cheek prompts him to look up and Asahi bends down to close the distance between their mouths. The kiss is slow and somehow needy, like Asahi needs this reassurance just as much as Noya does.

He's not sure how long they stand there holding each other and kissing but they are interrupted by the bell letting them know that they are both late for class.

Asahi rests his forehead against Noya's. He has his eyes closed and Noya can feel his chest move when he takes a deep breath.

"Sorry for making you late." Asahi says. He opens his eyes and straightens up.

"It's ok." Noya responds. "Sorry for making you late."

"It's ok." Asahi says smiling at him.

They go their separate ways after that, both rushing off to their classrooms.

He's expecting his teacher to give him detention for being late, but to his surprise the teacher just tells him to take his seat. He's not sure if he's just imaging things but the stares from the other students seem to be more numerous and more hostile than they were before lunch.

It's not until he comes back to class after going to the bathroom during the break before his last class of the day that he gets confirmation that he was definitely not imagining things.

All of his stuff is missing. Everything he hadn't taken with him to the bathroom is gone from his desk. He scans the classroom but he doesn't see it anywhere. The rest of the class is either acting like they don't know what's going on or laughing at him.

He's still standing there by his desk, face burning with embarrassment and unsure of what to do when the teacher comes in. The giggles die down, and the teacher asks him to sit.

He can't bring himself to tell the teacher what has happened so he does as he's told and sits.

They're supposed to be working in their workbooks today, but his is gone so he just stares at his desk instead, trying to ignore the stares and the tears building up in his eyes. The teacher doesn't comment about him not doing any work and he doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

When the bell rings, he doesn't join the rest of his classmates in the rush to the door to start the weekend. He doesn't want to have to look at them so he stays at his desk, head down, and waits for the majority of them to leave.

Someone slips a small piece of paper onto his desk, but he doesn't see who. When he opens it it says the name of a courtyard. He's not sure at this point that it's a good idea to follow the vague instructions on a mysterious note but, he needs his stuff back. And this is the only lead he has.

So he leaves the classroom and heads down the hallway towards the courtyard. He's on the second floor now and he'll be able to see the courtyard from the windows once he gets close. He figures he can just leave if it looks like a bad situation.

His stuff is all over the ground in the courtyard.

He can see people walking by in the nearby first floor hallways but everyone's avoiding the courtyard. The way things are strewn about it looks like someone dumped his stuff from one of the second floor windows.

He doesn't want to go down there and have to pick up all his stuff with everyone staring at him. But he also can't think of a better option. So he gathers up what courage and resolve he can and heads down to the courtyard.

It turns out to be worse than he imagined it would be. Because in addition to being able to feel people staring at him, he can hear them talking about him.

There's so many people passing by and talking that he doesn't catch most of what is said. But he catches enough to know they're talking about him. It's just more of the same stuff they've been saying all day.

"Did you hear?"

"He has two names."

"Who does he think he is? How is that fair?"

"What kind of freak gets two names?"

"That's so selfish."

"I feel bad for the poor guys stuck with someone like that as their soulmate."

It's not long before he's having to fight back tears again. It's making it harder to gather up all his stuff, which is exactly the opposite of what he wants. He just wants to get his things and go home as quickly as possible.

When someone drops down next to him he is alarmed at first but then he recognizes the frowning first year. Kageyama doesn't say anything but he starts helping to gather Nishinoya's things.

Working together they're able to gather up the rest of his stuff relatively quickly. Kageyama packs the last of it into Noya's bag and then stands up. He holds his hand out to Noya and helps pull him to his feet, then hands him his bag. Noya's not really sure what to say. He's so grateful and embarrassed. He's not sure if he should say thanks or sorry or both.

"Thanks Kage-" he starts but Kageyama cuts him off.

"Is that everything?" The first year is looking around to check to make sure they didn't miss anything.

"I- I think so." Noya says, glancing around as well.

"Good." Kageyama says with a nod, he's still frowning but Noya's not sure if that's just his neutral expression.

Noya's about to try again to thank him or apologize, he's still not sure which, when Kageyama surprises him again by taking his hand and pulling him with him away from the courtyard and towards the front of the school.

Caught off guard, Noya allows himself to be pulled along. They get out to the main courtyard in front of the school and Kageyama looks like he's looking for something. Noya's gathered his wits enough to be about to ask Kageyama where they're going when Kageyama seems to spot what he was looking for.

His grip on Noya's hand is a little too tight as he pulls him through the crowded courtyard towards some trees to the side of the entrance. When they break free from the crowds of students headed towards the exit Noya spots Ryuu and Ennoshita over where Kageyama is taking him. Ennoshita seems to be lecturing Ryuu, who seems to have accepted his fate and is pretending to listen from his spot sitting at the base of one of the trees.

When Ryuu spots them approaching the boredom on his face is replaced by a concerned look and he stands. Ennoshita seems to give up on his lecture and turns his attention to them as well.

When they get to the other two second years Kageyama drops his hand and turns to him.

"I have to go home now." He states. He starts to turn to leave but Noya catches his arm and stops him.

"Thank you Kageyama." Noya says. Kageyama blushes a little and nods in acknowledgement before leaving.

"What happened?" Ryuu asks, he's frowning and the bruise around his eye has gotten darker since Noya saw it at lunch.

Noya wants to just brush it off and say nothing happened, but he knows that after being dropped off here like a lost child by Kageyama no one will believe that nothing happened.

"Just people being jerks. I don't want to talk about it right now." He says instead, hoping they don't press him for more information.

He can see Ryuu's fists clench at his sides, and his frown doesn't go away but he doesn't push for more information.

"Okay." He says. He studies Noya for a moment. "Where are you meeting Asahi? Do you want us to walk with you?"

Noya thinks about his options for a moment. Part of him just wants to go home and crawl under his covers and be alone for a while, but he also kind of wants to listen to Asahi's suggestion earlier.

"Um, Asahi's brother needed his help with something so he can't hang out tonight." He says.

"I was actually thinking maybe we could hang out," he says addressing this part specifically to Ryuu, but then he glances over at Ennoshita "but if you guys already have plans it's cool, I'll just head home."

Ennoshita sighs and readjusts his bag on his shoulder.

"We don't." He says to Noya. He starts to walk away towards the gate and says over his shoulder to Ryuu. "That conversation we were having isn't over."

Ryuu rolls his eyes when he knows Ennoshita is no longer looking.

"What conversation? You were just lecturing me." He says under his breath. Noya chuckles. Ryuu seems surprised, like he hadn't realized he'd said it out loud but when he looks at Noya his face breaks into a smile.

It's the first time he's ever felt like he doesn't have to feel guilty for being in love with that smile.

Note: So this didn't wind up being the fluff I had originally planned it to be. All the responses on the last chapter made me realize there were a few other things I wanted to do first and they wound up taking up a whole chapter. I'm thinking I'll do the fluff I planned next chapter instead.

IMO kageyama is an awkward bean who wants to be helpful to his friends and teammates but isn't so good at the interpersonal stuff. He tries anyway though the cute baby.

I think I imagine more courtyards then are normal for most schools? The one Noya's stuff got tossed into is supposed to be a bit more secluded so that's why none of the other characters stopped to help or anything, because none of them saw/were nearby. The local schools where I live have a lot of courtyards so I always kind of picture schools as being similar to the ones I'm used to. But when I visited my cousin's school in a different city they only had like three so I guess it's not a universal thing.

BTW, I'm always taking suggestions here and on my blog for other characters/pairings people are interested in seeing in this AU. I have some plans for some characters, but a lot of them I don't have plans for. I probably won't write fics for all of them but I'm definitely always willing to talk about it.

My tumblr is nimbus-nsfw in case anyone is interested! Thank you for reading! 3